Hello, good to see you! So some of you were wondering about Roo and whether or not I made her up. No she is a Hazbin Hotel character, just one who hasn't appeared in the show, much like some of the characters in this chapter. Just to let you know this is more of a lore heavy world building chapter. Read on!

Chapter 7: The Eldritch Family (Snap, snap)

Envy Ring, Von Eldritch Mansion

Stepping out of the black and gold ferry boat and onto the wet dock, Stolas really did not want to be there. Like really, really, really did not want to be there, for several reasons.

The first was that he hated the Envy Ring. It was eighty percent ocean, and it was always storming somewhere. That didn't matter to most of the inhabitants who were aquatic demons and spent most of their time in underwater cities, but to land based demons who lived on the few islands, it was miserable. Even now, the rain came pouring down and it was only due to his high quality and enchanted cloak that that he wasn't soaked to the bone.

Making his way down the dock, the owl demon was somewhat surprised to find what he believed to be a man waiting for him. Stolas was tall by demon standards, standing at about a height of nine feet, yet he had to look up at the "man." The demon was dressed like a stereotypical butler, standing at attention and holding up a large umbrella to keep the rain off. The demon itself resembled a classic demon, with curved horns sticking out of its head, large bat like wings protruding from its back, and a long skeletal looking and barbed tail extending from the base of its spine. What set the thing apart from the other demons of hell was its skin. It was a shade of black so deep that it appeared to swallow the light, resulting in a figure that appeared to be flat, like a living silhouette. The final oddity was that it had no face, merely a smooth black surface with no eyes, no nose, nor mouth to be seen.

As Stolas approached the butler, it gave him a small bow before holding out its umbrella and gestured for the prince to follow.

"Very well." Stolas said as he stepped under the umbrella and walked beside the black demon in an uncomfortable silence.

As they made their way, Stolas' face contorted into a grimace as the second reason as to why he didn't want to be there made itself known. This close to the shores of the island, his nose was assaulted by the foul stench of rot and decay. A quick glance at the shoreline revealed dozens of carcasses, fish of all shapes and sizes were in various states of decomposition. Everyone of them had appeared to die a rather unnatural death based on all the teeth marks. It was a common sight across Envy, and a rather foul smelling one at that.

Trying to ignore the smell as best he could, Stolas focused on his destination. There sitting on top of a hill at the center of the island, surrounded by a forest of blacked trees with screaming faces protruding from their bark, was a large Victorian style mansion. It was a large and imposing structure of dark green and black wood, with its various windows shining with a warm orange light that contrasted with the cold and desolate surroundings. For a moment, Stolas couldn't help but think of an angler fish, using a pleasing light to lure in its prey.

Walking alongside the butler as they climbed the hill, Stolas knew there was something off, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out what. As they made their way through the forest, the prince stepped on a twig and as it snapped in two, he finally realized what was wrong. From the moment he had stepped next to the taller demon, all the sound around him seemed muted and distant. The deafening thunderclaps had been reduced to soft rumbling, the pounding of rain had become that of a soft shower, and as he watched the butler step on his own twig, there was not a sound to be heard. Everything the butler did, he did in complete silence and the world around him seemed to lose its voice.

Stolas managed to not to shutter, but just barely.

They finally made through the woods and to the mansion, and as they were climbing up the stairs, Stolas felt like he was walking into the maw of some beast. Stepping into the mansion, Stolas saw that the entire place looked immaculate, dark green wallpaper decorated with twisting black tendrils. A brass chandelier decorated with amber crystals was suspended above, portraits and paintings of nightmarish beasts hung on the walls, and a large staircase of ebony wood with brass handrails lay at the center of the room. From where he stood, Stolas could hear what sounded like soft jazz music playing from some other room in the house.

Stolas was just about to turn to the butler and ask where he was supposed to go when there was a crash of blinding flash of lightning followed by a crash of thunder, and suddenly a figure appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Prince Stolas!" the man said in a voice that echoed, like multiple men were speaking at once. "It has been too long! I haven't seen you since that little shindig that Beelzebub threw a few decades back!"

"Frederick! Its good to see you!" Stolas said, lying through his beak. "Yes, it was quite the party too. Bitchin as my daughter would say."

Standing there at the top of the stairs was none other than Fredrick Von Eldritch, the patriarch of the Von Eldritch family himself. He was on the rather short side, which made sense as Fredrick had taken on the form, or at least the general shape of Lucifer himself. He wore a knee length, high collar black coat with neon green accents, grey pants and a black top that had a gaping mouth surrounded by neon green fangs. His white hair was slicked back and contrasted with his rubbery grey skin, a thin white mustache sitting on his upper lip. His featureless eyes and fang filled smile both glowed with a sickly luminous green.

Before Stolas was the third reason why he really didn't want to be there, the Von Eldritch's themselves.

The Von Eldritch family were what one would call new money, having created a vast fortune that rivaled some of the oldest houses of the Ars Goetia. Normally, that would be nothing special, there had been plenty of demons who had come up with plans that earned them fortunes. The royals of Hell usually gave them no mind as their wealth usually only lasted at most a century before it was squandered or lost and hell returned to the status quo. What stood out about the Von Eldritch's was that not only had they lasted two centuries and were still going strong, but they had also seemingly appeared overnight. One day no one had even heard their name before, the next they were Hell's rising stars as they invested in dozens of seemingly idiotic business ventures that against all odds were overwhelmingly successful. Crocigator farms, sea salt mines, tombstone factories and several dozen insurance agencies spread across all seven rings, all profitable and brought the family untold riches. Many in Hell suspected that some sort of mind control or manipulation was at play but no matter how many investigations or how deep they dug, no one could find any sign of foul play.

It was almost like they just knew those businesses would work. They seemed to know a lot of things actually. Things that no one should know.

They had come into their fortune about two hundred and some odd years ago, exactly one year before the Fall on the twenty third of October. Their insurance business had raked in millions of mons their first few days and billions more as the years went by. It became enough of a concern that some of the nastier royals thought of just killing them, which would be relatively easy considering that for all their wealth they were just common Hellborn. Then the Von Eldritch family somehow became close friends with the Morningstar family. Fredrick had been seen constantly talking and laughing with Lucifer like old friends, his wife Bethesda had gotten quite familiar with Queen Lilith and if the rumors were true, their first born son had once even dated their daughter, Charlotte. And just like that any possibility of having them quietly dispatched had been thrown out the window as no one wanted to cross either of the first fallen.

So, the years went by, and the Von Eldritch family continued on with no signs of decline, and for the longest time that was just fine to Stolas. The Prince had never really cared about how one came into power, whether it was inherited through birth or built up with your own hands, it wasn't his concern. Then some fifty years ago at a party hosted by the Sin of Gluttony, Stolas had finally met the Von Eldritch's and had nearly choked on a rat kebab. Stella had thrown a major bitch fit after he accidentally spat it up on her dress. As amusing as something like that would have normally been, he couldn't find anything humorous at that moment, not while he was on the edge of a panic attack.

Stolas was in charge of studying the stars, their movements and the cosmos. Because of this, Stolas knew far more about creation than most demons in hell and dare he think it, most angels in heaven. He used his Grimoire to gaze upon and examine the stars, he also looked into endless void, the dark between the stars. It was there that he caught glimpses of…things…out there. He was a Prince of the Ars Goetia, a child of King Paimon himself, he was no stranger to things beyond mortal comprehension, yet he had been left unsettled.

When confronted with the unknown, he had armed himself with knowledge and discovered the truth. Most religions got origins of creations wrong, but the Abrahamic bible was the closest. 'And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.' was the quote, though in truth there was far more singing involved. What most people forgot was that the darkness never went away, but merely kept at bay by the light of existence. Out in the dark, before time and space were even concepts, there existed monsters.

Beings beyond reality whose sheer presence could drive one's mind past the edge of sanity and into madness. There were few words that could best describe the power and scale of these beings, but one of the most accurate would be 'Gods'. Thankfully for all their power, their mindsets were relatively simple, and they did not care for the physical world or the afterlives, finding their physical laws far too constraining and preferring the nebulous void. Of course, their presence could still be felt in the physical world, like ripples on the surface of the water when a fish swims underneath. There had been a great many cultish religions throughout history dedicated to those beings, though most of those same cults meet a rather gruesome end when they managed to gain their god's attention.

Yet despite their power and influence, most beings, whether they be humans, demons or angels, did not even know they existed. Stolas had thought it an odd thing until he met others who knew of the Gods, and it was explained to him that they deliberately suppressed that knowledge. The last thing anyone wanted was some fool messing with forces beyond their ken and bringing destruction to everything around them.

Having all this knowledge thrust upon him had been rather jarring for Stolas, but he had gladly accepted the responsibility that came with it. He had told no one of such matters and on several occasions even stepped in to eradicate cults who were trying to summon creatures from the abyss as servants. When it came to keeping the beings on the outside of reality from coming in, he took his duties rather seriously. Which is why he was beyond shocked when he caught sight of the Von Eldritch's.

Looking at them with their rubbery looking skin, needle like teeth, the smell of decay that clung to them and the occasional sprouting of a tentacle, it was easy to mistake them as hellborn from some deep forgotten crevice in Envy. The truth was that they weren't from Envy. In fact they weren't demons at all, neither Hellborn nor Sinner.

They were Star Spawn.

Out in the abyss, not all the beings that existed there could be called gods, most of them were about as powerful as a normal demon, but still no less alien. They were known as Star Spawn and anytime they showed up, it was usually followed by chaos and carnage. Which is why it was so strange watching the Von Eldritch family members peacefully mingling with the upper crust of Hell.

When he had reluctantly chatted with the Star Spawn, he had found them incredibly upbeat, cheerful and surprisingly coherent. Still, he had never let his guard down around the foreigners and had made sure to keep his eye on them for any potential threat. After that party, Stolas monitored them and done everything in his power to investigate the family. Coming up with nothing. He hated not knowing things, and right now he hated that he was forced to ask the Von Eldritch family for help dealing with this Harbinger fellow.

From the top of the stairs, Fredrich smiled down at Stolas and then with a athletic leap, jumped onto the railing and slid down the brass and just before reaching the bottom, leapt off the stairs and landed in front of the Prince after performing a front flip.

"Ha ha!" yelled as he gave a mock bow before turning to the massive butler. "Thank you for leading Stolas here Gaunt. You are excused."

The silent butler gave a small bow before leaving the room without a sound.

"Quite the staff you have here." Stolas said.

"Oh yes, Gaunt is an excellent servant. He's loyal, a fantastic cook and a wonderful conversationalist. Now, if you would follow me to my study?" The patriarch of the family said as he turned around and made his way upstairs with Stolas close behind.

"So sorry to make you wait a week before we could set up an appointment, I had several meetings dealing with an attempted corporate takeover. No need to worry, we settled it with a duel too first blood. I don't think he expected that much first blood though." The Star Spawn said with a chuckle.

"No need to apologize. I understand needing to protect one's possessions Sir Eldritch."

"Oh no, call me Fred! No need to be so formal when there's a potential deal to be made!" Fredrich said, causing Stolas to flinch.

Making their way upstairs and further into the mansion, they stepped into Fredrich's study. Much like the main room, the wallpaper was green with black tendrils with a large mahogany desk near the large circular window. To the left, the entire wall was one massive bookshelf that went from floor to ceiling. The books themselves were each unique, made of different materials and covers that came in all shades of colors, some of which Stolas was pretty sure shouldn't exist. The wall had a beautiful fireplace made of black stone in the center with a large portrait of the entire Von Eldritch family hanging above it. The fireplace was currently in use with a large sickly yellow blazing away, being tended to by Bethesda Von Eldritch herself.

The woman had taken on a taller form with very pronounced curves and a slim waist. Much like her husband, she had the same grey skin, green eyes and white hair, though her hair looked especially soft and glossy compared to his and went all the way down to her feet. Stolas might have thought that she had trouble not stepping on her own hair, but he knew she could control her hair as easily as one could move their finger. Attire wise, she wore long black opera gloves and a backless strapless form fitting dress that showed off the top of her cleavage and went down to her feet. She was quite beautiful, if one could ignore the gaping maw on her abdomin.

"You're back ma Petite Seiche." The woman said in a sultry voice as she sashayed her way towards them.

"Of course my Love, how could I bear to part with you for more than I have to?" Fredrich said as he approached his wife and the two embraced in a deep and rather passionate kiss.

This was also the last reason why he didn't want to be here, their happy marriage. Stolas' marriage was not what one would call healthy, in fact calling it toxic would be a massive understatement. So, to watch these vile things from beyond the borders of reality express their deep love for each other had his eyebrow twitching with envy. The worst part was that as long as he had been spying on them, they had always acted this way. As far as he knew, this was no act and their love was completely genuine.

"Ahm." Stolas coughed into his fist, cause the two Star Spawn to pause.

"Ah, yes. My dear, may I present to you Prince Stolas of the Ars Goetia." Fred said as they broke apart.

"It is a pleasure to see you again my Lord." Bethesda said with a small bow.

"Now, how about we get settle and discuss what you need and what we would want in return." The patriarch said as I walked around his desk and sat down in a large red leacher chair. Bethesda followed him and took a seat on his armrest and smiled down at her husband before shifting her gaze to Stolas.

Stolas wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do until with a flick of Fredrick's wrist, the fire grew in size and some of the flames left the body and flew to the space in front of the desk. The flames quickly took on the shape of a seat and solidified into a chair like the one Fredrick sat in, only sized for Stolas.

The Prince sat down, trying to not let the Star Spawn's unblinking gazes from getting to him.

"So, now that were all comfortable, I would like to know just what it is you seek from me?" Fred asked.

"I seek information on a certain someone." Stolas responded.

"Oooo, let me guess. You want to know which of his children loves the most? No! You want to know about Ozzie's or Bee's new lowborn lovers to blackmail them? Oh, what about Lucifers favorite snack to get in his good graces? Its caramel apples by the way."

Stolas raised an eyebrow at the man before shaking his head. "Eh, no. Actually, am seeking information on a living human known as Paul Harbinger."

"A living human? Does this have something to do with your little imp lover's forays to the living world?"

Stolas' eyes widened in shock. "How did you...?"

"Oh come now, you weren't exactly subtle. So, this Paul Harbinger is who to you?" Fred asked.

"The one currently in possession of my grimoire." The Prince said through gritted beak. "As well as someone I believe that can wield power from…your…side of reality."

"Ah, so we finally do away with the masquerade. Yes, we are what you call Star Spawn but rest assured that we have no intention of spreading madness or summoning things beyond comprehension."

"Why would we? We quite enjoy Hell the way it is. Plus destroying it would be far too easy, where's the challenge?" Bethesda said with a smirk.

"I feel like as a demon I should be offended by that remark." Stolas mumbled. "Yes, I was aware you from the void and have made sure to seek out any intrusions in this part of the afterlife. Doing so I have become quite familiar with your kind's powers, and upon witnessing the memories of someone getting their cute little ass kicked by this human, I realized that there was some outside influence upon the man. Influence of your kind."

"And you wish to know just what the man who stole a powerful infernal tome can do rather than try blindly confront him." Fredrick said, guessing Stolas' motivations.

"Yes. Many of the Ars Goetia once underestimated a king named Solomon, including my father and my namesake. They were bound to his will and forced to do his bidding until he released them. I have no intention of following in their footsteps."

"A wise decision." Fredrick said with a nod. "I shall give you all the knowledge I possess on this man, but not for free. You know the routine. So, let's strike a bargain."

Stolas let out a sigh as he steeled his nerves. Making a deal was never one did lightly. To make a contract or strike a deal bound two individuals together for the rest of time or when one of the individuals met their final death as their soul was torn asunder. Stolas had made such deals in the past, but normally he was the one in control with someone wanting something from him, not the other way around. But at this point he was desperate enough to get his book back that he was willing to accept such a deal, as long as the cost wasn't too high.

"Very well. What is your price?" Stolas asked, causing the couple to grin.

"Oh, what we want is quite simple. For you to cease your spying."

Stolas tilted his head at hearing those words. They had known about his investigations? How? He had used some of the best intelligence agents the Goetia had under their employ.

"Yes, we know about your little spies." Fredrick answered the unspoken question. "They did an admirable job but unfortunately for them, we have our own employees whose capabilities far surpassed theirs. The only reason why Gaunt did not dispose of them was because I found their efforts amusing. However, after finding a spy at my sons bloodball game last month, that amusement has become an annoyance. So, my offer is thus. Cease your attempts to snoop, and I shall give you what you desire. I believe Its more than fair."

Stolas let out a long sigh as he rubbed his eyes. "Hundreds of man hours wasted. Very well, I Prince Stolas of the Ars Goetia swear that in exchange for the information you have on Paul Harbinger, I shall stop all attempts to spy and gather information on the Von Eldritch family."

As he spoke, Stolas held out his hand and it flared to life and motes of astral blue light floated in the air. Fredrick smiled as he held out his own hand that burst into whisps of sickly yellow energy. The two hands met, and the energies collided, warred against each other and then peacefully intwined. With the deal struck and the bargain made, in Stolas' mind a metaphorical cage came into existence, sealing away all thoughts of further spying on the Von Eldritch's.

Fred gave a satisfied nod as he released his grip on the demon's hand. "That's more like it. Now Beth, sweetie? Could you please fetch me the ledger?"

His wife flashed him a smile before taking her right hand and reaching into her own abdominal maw. As Stolas watched, her arm seemed to disappear into that dark abyss even though there shouldn't have been enough room inside her body for that to happen. It was then he had to remind himself that he was not dealing with the average demon. Star Spawn had a natural affinity with non-Euclidean and warped spaces. When she eventually pulled her arm back out, she was holding what looked like a little unassuming brown book.

"Here you are my darling." She said as she handed it to her husband.

Fredrick gave her hand a soft kiss before taking the book from her and began flipping through it. Then he continued flipping. Stolas quickly realized after a few seconds that the small book apparently held far more pages than its small size indicated.

"Might I ask what it is you are looking for?" He asked as he watched the Star Spawn flip through his book.

"He is looking up this human, Paul Harbinger, that you are so interested in." Bethesda answered.

"You already have him logged in a book?"

Bethesda let out a small laugh. "We have the name, description and record of every human that swears their soul to the Grand Ancient Ones. You see my Prince, my husband and I are what you might call the middlemen. As you know, humans of the mortal plane have worshiped gods and goddesses for millennia and in a few cases, those gods were quite real. So, when those humans offered up their own souls for power, riches or even just because of pure devotion, they forfeited their rights both Heaven and Hell. When they die, their souls are whisked away by our agents and taken to our side of the street and delivered to their rightful owner."

"And what becomes of the souls then?" Stolas asked, only to receive a small shrug.

"What the Gods do with their followers is of no concern to us, our job is completed upon delivery. Of course, there are those who seek to renege on their deals or simply fall through the cracks. When they do so, we simply use the ledger to keep track of who is missing and where we can find them to send them on their way. Every now and then a cultist finds themselves falling into hell as a sinner, but we swoop in while no one is looking and correct the mistake."

Stolas stared at the woman in shock. They had the power to pluck human souls from the depths of hell?! This lot was even more dangerous than had thought.

"Do…do you do the same for heaven bound souls?" He asked, causing the Star Spawn to laugh once again.

"Oh by Azayogs suckers, no. The Host of Heaven would sooner send their armies to raid the Void rather than give up one of their Winners. Thankfully that is not an issue as the cults commit plenty of sinful deeds in their god's name. In their worship, they damn themselves either way."

After that exchange, they all sat in silence for several more minutes with the only sounds being the distant thunder, the crackle of the fire and the nonstop turning of pages. After about half an hour, Fredrick came to the end of his book and calmly sat it down on desk.

"Well?" Stolas asked.

"We have no record of any Paul Harbinger, the closest we have is a Padre Hernandez, some cult leader down in the Mexican wasteland."

"What?! No that can't be possible, I saw a hint of the power inside him. It was of your kind." Stolas said.

"I assure you our records are never wrong. Anyone who has sworn their soul to one of our gods in exchange for abilities is in here…Unless he hasn't sold his soul. Hmmm." Fredrick said rubbing his chin. "Perhaps he has found a way to wield power without worship. What do you already know of the human?"

Stolas let out another sigh. What did he know about the human? Quite a bit actually, as he had not sat idly by over the last week and had sent agents out to gather information. They had started with Blitzo's employer, or should he say employers. The imp had played a dangerous game taking on several payments for a single job but thankfully they didn't have to pay him until after the job was completed, which was looking far less likely to happen. It turns out that all of the clients who ordered the hit had done so because he had directly killed them all. One of whom had turned out to be a minor Warlord named Talon who had led an entire mercenary company while alive. That very same company was all but eradicated by said human, and they had learned that on only the first day.

"Well, the first thing you need to know is that he is a king, and not one who inherited the title but took it for himself by shedding copious amounts of blood. In a single week, my investigators have found hundreds of sinners all across Hell who claim that they were killed by him personally under various titles such as Lone Wanderer or the Courier. Not only that, but he also rules over what is currently the most advanced nation on earth known as the New America Regime that controls almost all of the North American continent.

In combat he is considered both nigh unstoppable and unkillable. In fact, there is rumor amongst his victims that he is actually some sort of undead monster as there were reports that he crawled out of his grave after being shot in the head. I don't know whether that is true or not, but I saw a memory of him being shot in the head by an assassin, only to shrug off the wound like one would a BB. On top of being a physical threat, he is also known to be a certified genius in various fields of science as well as a medical expert, master engineer and silver tongued manipulator.

He is beloved by his people and if what some of the Sinners say is true, he has his own cult with a devoted following who believe him to be some sort of conquering demigod. Needles to say, he is the last person who I want in control of my Grimoire because if he could find a way to repair it, he would be capable of opening portals across all dimensions. Is that enough information?"

Fredrick nodded his head in confirmation. "Yes, I believe that will be enough. Although I must ask what you mean by "repair" your Grimoire? I was under the impression that your royal books were neigh indestructible."

"Normally you'd be right, but the human stabbed it. I'm not what it was with but the blade he used both ancient and powerful."

The two Star Spawn turned to look at each other and seemed to have some sort of silent conversation for a minute before turning back to the Prince.

"Would you kindly show us this blade?" Bethesda asked.

Stolas held out his hand and whisps of blue light emerged from his feathers, forming a circle of energy that floated in the air. Then that circle began to show images of Blitzo's memories of the fight against Paul Harbinger. Much like in real life, the fight did not go well for the demons, and it was only due to the leader's desperate gamble that the human didn't kill his adopted daughter. The blade skewered the powerful tome and as the Star Spawn watched, the human was engulfed by glowing tendrils of power and the image paused so they could get a proper view of the weapon.

Fredrick and Bethesda both leaned forward, and their eyes widened beyond what their anatomy should allow in shock as they looked upon the twisted iron blade.

"Kremvh."

They both whispered that name in unison, causing Stolas' own eyes to widen. "Kremvh. The Kremvh?! The asteroid that ended the first beasts?!"

The destruction of the dinosaurs was not a commonly talked about subject in Hell, mostly because the existence of hell made many believe that dinosaurs never actually existed due to the perceived contradictions of religious text. The truth was that while the angels had been designing the first human in Eden, the world had not been idle when it came to creating life of its own. From the crucible of the primordial crucible had come beasts of great size and power, dominating the land and preying upon each other. At first the angels had been disgusted by such violence, but quickly found that such a vicious competition for life proved quite stable with every creature having its place in the cycle. They thought they could use it as the framework for their future Earth, though it would have to be more controlled and refined, as the primal world had given rise to three great uncontrollable beasts of awesome power.

Leviathan, Behemoth and Ziz had been the lords of the sea, the land and the air respectively. They ruled over the first beasts with iron fists, and it wasn't long before they eventually warred against each other and their conflict threatened both Eden and the world. Heaven at first tried to broker some sort of peace between the three but found that not only were they adamant that they would not stop until the other two were dead, they let them know that Eden was next.

Heaven hadn't known what to do as they had yet to truly know what war and conflict was and the idea of destroying living beings was unspeakable to them, even if it would be to go against foes who sought their destruction. Unable to do it themselves, Heaven had contacted one of the beings of the Void, one that embodied destruction and change. The being had listened to their plea and agreed to help them by sending a fragment of itself to devastate the world while leaving Eden untouched.

The fragment had changed itself from the flesh of a god into the mineral that killed the very stars. As a star burned in the darkness of space, it consumed itself until little remained and iron was the death knell. It poisoned the star, causing it to expand and then explode into a supernova. So much like iron kills the stellar bodies, an iron asteroid would be the death of the first beasts.

The angels and the first humans spoke the original language of creation and in the first tongue the asteroid was named Kremvh. Eradication.

Kremvh impacted the earth, and the first beasts were slain. Ziz's skies burned, Behemoth's lands were shattered and Leviathan's seas boiled. Two of the three great beasts died, and it was only Leviathan, the craftiest of them all was the only being who survived. He had hidden in the deepest depths of the oceans, and patiently waited for his moment. He waited millennia until finally the moment had come and Evil was unleashed upon the world and Hell came into existence. With his great power, he plunged headfirst into hell and took one of its rings for himself, the very ring the Prince and the Star Spawn were standing in. Leviathan was in his own way the First Sin, the sin of Envy. The asteroid itself was mostly destroyed on impact and the pieces that survived had rusted into nothing.

Yet as Stolas eyed the image of the blade, he couldn't help but wonder if the Star Spawn were right.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

The couple managed to recompose themselves after their initial shock and Fred Nodded at him. "Yes, you may not be able to tell but that blade is practically dripping with energy of the Void. It's positively toxic to anything with a soul and I think that imp girl and hellhound should be thankful they are soulless otherwise they would be rotting corpses by now. It may only be a fragment of Kremvh, but it's obviously more than powerful enough to skewer that book of yours. Honestly, I really want to know how this man got his hands on it."

Stolas let out a sigh of relief at the news. "Oh, that is a massive weight off my chest. I was concerned that the man had the power, but it was just his blade."

"Oh no, the man himself has power, but that blade! I would love to get my hands on that!" Fredrick said with a smile.

Stolas just stared at the man for a minute, his left eye twitching.

"What do you mean he has powers?! I thought the energy came from his weapon?" he asked.

Fredrick shook his head. "Nope. The piece of Kremvh is potent but other than its ability to kill, it has no other abilities. Destruction was its only purpose. Now the man himself obviously has some power but from what I can see is that its unrefined, possibly even dormant."

"How is that possible? Didn't you say he hasn't sworn his soul to one of your gods?"

Fredrick nodded at him. "Yes, I did. Which is why it's so interesting. He hasn't sold his soul and the artifact he wields isn't capable of…well…that." He said pointing at the green tendrils of energy that surrounded the human as the shadows writhed.

"The only thing I can think of is if he somehow managed to gain power without making a deal. Which would be…not impossible." He said as his eyes widened. "Hmm, tell me, where is this Paul Harbinger from originally?"

Stolas wracked his brain. From what he knew, the oldest sinners who claimed to have been killed by Mr. Harbinger went back some twenty years ago.

"I believe he hails from a place known as the Capital Wasteland, originally known as Washington D.C., former capital of the United States."

Fredrick turned to look at his wife. "Map?" he asked.

"Map." She confirmed before reaching deep into the mouth of her husband's hat and pulled out a large rolled up piece of yellowed parchment paper. Bethesda set the paper down on the desk, unrolled it and blew off several layers of dust that made Stolas cough. Stolas glanced down and saw that it was a map of the North American continent, though unlike most maps there wee several bright green dots scattered across its surface, and stolas noticed that most of them were on or near the east coast.

"District of Colombia should be abouuuut here." He said before tapping the green dot and the map changed, zooming in on the dot and taking the form of what Stolas believed was a map of D.C.

On the map appeared two oddities. The first was a lime green symbol near the center of the map that looked like a stylized atom. The second was in the bottom left corner and resembled a sort of dark green obelisk wrapped in tendrils.

"What am I looking at here?" Stolas asked.

"A map of certain places where my world leaks into the mortal world. This one here," he said pointing at the symbol at the center. "Is a symbol of faith. Right here some mortal had a brush with a god and built a cult in their honor."

Fredrick reached over and tapped the symbol, causing it to briefly flash white. "Ah, they seem to call themselves the Children of Atom, no doubt worshiping one of a god's aspects under one of their many names. It's interesting that although they worship this Atom, they don't actually swear their souls to it. Probably why I don't recall dealing with them before."

"Could the man's power have come from this cult?" Stolas asked, causing Fredrick to give him a shrug.

"Possible, but not likely. Cults tend to be all over the place when it comes to how much attention they get from their patron. The more attention one gets, the more powerful and insane they become. Because of this, it's usually not long before they are wiped out by armed militias made up of farmers who got tired of their cultist shit. The fact that this group is still around either means they are not getting much attention, or their patron is more subtle than others. If it's the latter, then that makes things interesting as most of my gods literally cannot comprehend subtlety as they would require understanding how humans think. Still, as interesting as they may be, the cultists are merely a side effect. The true power in the region is this."

Moving away from the symbol at the center, Fred pointed his finger at the darker symbol in the corner of the map.

"And this is…?" Stolas asked.

"An Altar of Communion." Fredrick gave him a wide toothy grin. "Incredibly rare and unfathomably dangerous. Think of them as communication devices like those newfangled hellphones, though you can only contact one entity specifically and depending on that entity you will most likely be very insane, very dead or very much wishing you were dead. Still, if you're trying to contact a Grand Ancient One, it's much better to use one of these rather than relying on human sacrifices. Far too messy for my tastes and the connection's spotty at best."

Stolas stared at the image of the obelisk and audibly gulped. He had heard of these altars but had the fortune to never encounter one. From what he had heard, they resembled the image on the map and the dark power they contained were usually so powerful that any demon less powerful than that of royal blood would have their minds enthralled and their will's broken just by being in its presence. Much like the Von Eldritch had said, each altar was connected to a single god and each had could unleash their own brand of chaos if some fool actually managed to contact them.

Snowstorms in the Wrath Ring that were so cold it froze the volcanoes. A psychic scream in Gluttony that caused any food made with dairy to instantly rot. A nonstop three day downpour of golden nuggets falling from the sky in Greed. And then there was the time that a plague outbreak in the Lust Ring that caused severe sexual dysfunction that lasted weeks. Each time the ring had descended into madness and mayhem, and it was only after sealing off those altars that the chaos was put to an end before the Ring's destroyed themselves.

If they could cause that kind of insanity in hell, then Stolas didn't even want to know what could happen if someone on earth used one. Unless…unless that was exactly what Harbinger had done.

"Fred, to which god is that altar connected to?" he asked nervously.

"I don't know. Let's just see…" He tapped the emblem of the altar, there was a flash of light and the Star Spawn's face fell. "…Oh shit."

"Fredrick? What is the matter?" His wife asked as she placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Ug-Qualtoth. It's connected to Ug-Qualtoth." He whispered.

The revelation caused both his wife and Stolas to go wide eyed.

Among the gods of the outside, few were as feared as Ug-Qualtoth. In the first tongue, its name meant "The Vile Light" and to contact it was borderline suicide. Ug-Qualtoth was an entity of destruction, transformation, possibility and potential. It was also extremely volatile if sought out and the would be cultist who purposely contacted it often found themselves with a fate worse than death. However, it was known to be rather benevolent if one earned its attention through their own merit with no intention of trying to earn its favor.

The thing about the Vile Light was its intelligence. It was a being beyond most Grand Ancient Ones as despite having a similar alien mindset like its kin, it knew and understood the hearts and minds of mortals, demons and angels alike. It was a being of unfathomable knowledge and power but it could be reasoned with. It was after all Ug-Qualtoth who struck a bargain with Heaven and sent Kremvh to wipe the earth clean of the first beasts.

And an altar dedicated to contacting it was there on earth and the human may have somehow found a way to use it.

"Oh fuck me." Stolas said as he pinched the bridge of his beak. "I'm not going to have an easy time dealing with this Harbinger, am I?"

Fredrick shook his head. "Nope! You wanna know the worst part?"

Stolas stared at the man, his left eye twitching. "There's a worse part!?"

"Mhmm. According to the maps records about twenty some years ago, there was a brief but significant spike in activity. During the spike it seems the altar was used, not to contact a god, but to destroy an ancient tome of dark power known as the Krivbeknih. Normally this would already be quite a feat but according to the altar, the man that destroyed the book also read the thing and somehow managed to overcome its maddening influence and corrupting effects. Now whether or not he remembers reading the book is another matter but either way he read the book and then called upon Ug-Qualtoth's power to destroy it. Any guesses on the name of person who did this?"

"Paul Harbinger." Stolas answered sounding defeated.

"Bingo! Now do you want to hear the best part?"

Stolas let out a tired sigh. "No, but I know I need to. What's the best part?"

Fredrick gave the demonic Prince a rather large and mad looking smile.

"Ug-Qualtoth has acknowledged him. It knows him by name and has seen fit to grant him power without the needing to forfeit his soul. Whether or not he knows it, Mr. Harbinger is warlock, one who has gained the attention of the Destroyer."

Fredrick Von Eldritch let out a disturbing chuckle as he leaned back in his chair, rolled up the map and stuffed it back in his hat.

"And with that or deal is complete. I have given you all the information I have on this Paul Harbinger."

Stolas pushed himself out of the chair and dusted himself. "Very well. I thank you Lord and Lady Eldritch for your help. Now if you will excuse me, I have a human to track down."

The Prince was about to reach for the door handle when Fredrick called out to him. "Oh Stolas." He turned around and eyed the two Star Spawn who were staring at him.

"One last bit of information. This human you are looking for, I would start looking in the Pride Ring if I were you. It seems there was a rather nasty bit of chaos a few days ago at the V Bowl. Apparently there were no survivors, which is odd considering sinners shouldn't be able to die so easily.

Also, I would find him as quickly as possible if I were you. If a human like that was let loose in hell, who knows just how much his power would grow. So, with that I wish you luck on your hunt, my Prince. You're going to need it."

With all that needed to be said now said, Stolas left the study and the Eldritch couple resumed their previous embrace. The only things that could be heard were the crackling of the fire and the rumble of distant thunder.

…-…

And there we go. Now if you are confused about Ug-Qualtoth, he's a semi Lovecraftian deity that has been lurking in the background of the Fallout games since 3 and it believed that it and Atom are one in the same, especially with the release of the Winter of Atom roleplaying game.

Ug-Qualtoth is also compared too Yog-Sothoth of the real Cthulhu Mythos so in a roundabout way, I would recommend you listen to a song called Yog Sothoth's Burning Light by Scissor Sisters [AI Covers] if you want to get a feel for Ug-Qualtoth.

Now you have a pleasant day and please leave a review!