Something Wicked This Way Comes

[Ryan - Loki]

The fifth level of Hell, one of nine levels if you included limbo, a middle level thought by many to be of relative unimportance in stature, depending how idiotic you were to think such a thing. Known to many, but few, the fifth level of Hell belonged to the Lord known as Loki, a fearsome being of unnatural power, merciless, brutal, and cold - unless it suited, or would be more beneficial not to be. The will of a God was ever changing, as is his emotions, but once more Loki’s level of Hell had been transfigured back into the beautiful and tranquil paradise he called ‘home’ . The valley of the Samurai was indeed a beautiful place, a place that no longer existed on Dragonia, but only within Hell; fate wasn’t without it’s sense of irony it seemed.

At any rate unlike most levels of Hell there were no dammed souls within the fifth level, Loki’s home, and this was through his choice alone. Defying the laws of Hell that Lucifer set over a millennia ago Loki stood alone, besides Natas, against Lucifer’s rule. It was now very common knowledge within the levels of Hell that Loki planned to dethrone Lucifer, destroy him, and take the throne of Hell for himself. It was a bold plan to say the least, and merely a rumour, but nevertheless Loki had indeed set himself upon the other Lords of Hell and had dealt with each one that stood in his way or refused to align themselves with him; whatever he was planning it was big, and he was surely growing closer to it with each passing day.

But alone, or even as two, Loki stood little chance against the ultimate ruler of Hell, or so it was widely believed, and even if he did stand a chance he had no way of entering Lucifer’s level of Hell unless Lucifer so wished him too, and of late not a single person had been granted such an honour, or an opportunity. But things had been set in motion that would perhaps change the fate of Hell, Dragonia and even perhaps Heaven, forever.



“Natas,”
“Yes master?”
“It’s time I awakened him. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“Are you sure that’s wise master? I mean he wiped out several thousands of minions before his soul, or whatever that black thing is, was contained and processed. Should he rebel are you sure your, well, up to the chal-”
“I advise you not to finish your sentence Natas.” Loki’s voice immediately changed in tone, a sudden burst of anger croaking through. “Not if you value the gift of speech.” With a slow bow of the head Natas ceased with what he had been trying to say. “Very well my master,” he began. “It shall be done, and I’ll leave you alone to ‘deal’ with the situation.” his words had been said with just an ounce of malice, but Loki had seemingly let it slip. With a click of his fingers Natas flickered and vanished from site, leaving Loki alone.

After a few seconds Loki turned around and looked off into the distance and waved his hands at the nearby trees, causing them to vanish from existence it seemed. He needed room for what he was about to do. Closing his fist it became engulfed in flames, yet the flames merely danced across Loki’s skin, they did not burn him. With a slight flick of the wrist the flames were flung off of his fist and separated out into the shape of a large oval; a universal portal, someone was on their way.

“Welcome back to the realm of the living...for now.” he said, greeting his new guest with a warning, smirking all the while.

[kihaku]

From within the depths of the gloom, a single black boot slowly came into view, followed by a leg, though it was quickly cut off by a lenth of heavy leather with intricate engravings. The form emerging slowly grew larger and larger, until the full height and frame of the individual finally emerged from the portal. The moving bits of clothing ceased to ripple, the individual's hair finally lay flat, his bangs obscuring his face for only a moment before he took a sharp intake of breath. His head leaned back as his lungs filled, and his pale, malicious facade was revealed.

Holding his breath, Dramanius raised his arms in line with his chest, stretching muscles that havn't been used in months, enjoying the sensations of simply feeling. His thin, pale lips parted in a grin, revealing ivory white, pointed teeth. His exhale whistled through his jaws, and his fingers flexed within his gloves. His sheath hung heavily in front of him, the handle angled down, towards the ground. Dropping his arms, he finally looked at his summoner, his dark gaze drinking up his companion's image.

"Greetings. I assume you know who I am, bringing me from the dead... might I have the same pleasure of knowing your name?"

[Ryan - Loki]

“Yeah, I know EXACTLY who you are Dramanius,” turning his back on Dramanius Loki began to walk away. “You’re apparently the harbinger of death, or so it appeared when you let yourself loose on Dragonia a few months back.” waving his arm slightly the ground in front of him began shaking violently, as if an earthquake was about to ravage the land, but the truth was far less dangerous and more magnificent. Clumps of dirt and rock began to form together and rise from within the ground before finally taking the shape of a throne; all fell still once again.

“As for my name, ” Loki continued as he stabbed Bane into the rock directly through the left arm of the throne, before throwing himself backwards into the throne. “Some would call me a God, lord, master, some would even mistake me for the devil, for that pussy Lucifer…you however can call me Loki. I’ll let that sink in for a few moments…” closing his eyes it seemed that even he was taking in the apparent marvel of his own name.

“You know,” Loki opened his eyes, resting his hand on his chin. “You kept all those weaklings, that call themselves warriors, on Dragonia running around in circles, and sent the world into chaos, before you finally revealed yourself to them…I have to admit, I was impressed.” he leaned forward. “And that doesn’t happen often, I assure you.” once again Loki made himself comfortable in his throne. “But then the killed you. Obliterated every single particle of your being. Destroyed you…you know, it kinda makes a guy doubt you were as intelligent and powerful as I first thought.”

[kihaku]

Throughout the entire transformation, Dramanius hardly moved at all, save for his long bangs which quivered with the air. After that, however, he made no movement to give away that he was at all interested, impressed, bored, or feeling anything at all. His face was a stoic, impassive mask that could be interpreted to mean nothing, or everything.

When this... Loki paused, obviously to "allow" Dramanius to respond, he didn't disappoint. He gazed intently at the hellish figure, his black eyes never deviating from the demon's face. "Then why would that concern you," Dramanius rested his left hand on the end of scabbard, which was actually the point end of the sword it contained, "you, who are not a 'guy,' but a god, lord, and master?" He gave his head a jerk to either side, his long left bang and shorter right now comfortably out of his face. "As much as I'd love to grovel and make excuses, the simple fact remained that I was fighting against the 'best,'" Dramanius exagerated this word, as if he didn't fully believe this, and was bitter about the whole fiasco, "Dragonia had to offer, not to mention the three souls who knew me as well as I did, exacerbated by the fact that we were in realm of mortals."

His pale mask was fading, the right corner of his mouth tugging into a small smirk, his left brow raising slightly in amusement. "But then again, such things might seem trivial... when one such as you lives in eternity in a realm where they are the only true power. It kind of makes a guy think you retain some dellusion of power that you believe might transfer over to the realm of the living." Dramanius began tapping a small tattoo on the tip of his sheath, the metal giving off ringing clicks as the hardened tips of his glove rapped against it.

"Don't get me wrong, I am grateful for the chance at life... but an unholy being summoning the dead never bodes well for the soul called upon. What do you want?"

[Ryan - Loki]

“What do I want indeed.” It seemed that Loki derived some sort of sick pleasure from these sort of conversations. Perhaps it was merely the fact that he was in control, for the most part at least, or maybe it was the reality hat he had brought Dramanius back to life, or possibly it was because Dramanius was one of the first people to actually treat him with at least some of the respect that a person of his stature deserved, nay demanded; he had never felt so Godly.

“Dramanius, in Hell there are nine levels exactly. These nine levels of hell are, or were,” he couldn’t help but snigger as his words brought forward recent, and not so recent, memories of all his achievements. “controlled by a separate entity, a lord of that particular level of hell if you will.” Pausing briefly Loki stood from his throne, stretching his back, but not allowing any real time for Dramanius to speak as he was not yet finished. “Each lord has certain powers within their level of hell, and only in their level of hell. Powers that link them to their level of hell, that bind them together. Powers to manipulate anything within the level, much like you saw with my little creation,” he motioned at his rock throne behind him with his hand. “Powers that make them almost invincible within their own level, powers that make them truly almighty.”

“Limbo is the ninth and lowest level of hell, where the gates to hell reside and a lengthy army of pathetic demon minions. This level doesn’t really have a lord as such. Level eight is ruled by a lady known as Janos. Level seven is ruled by a being known as Aion. Level six by a demon lord, and my personal servant, known as Natas. Levels five through to two are ruled by me, and level one is ruled by hells supreme - hah - ruler,” he had paused, as if he couldn’t bring himself to say Lucifers name in the same sentence as ‘supreme ruler’ in case it left a bad taste in his mouth. “Lucifer, who I suppose is also the closest thing to a ruler over limbo as well.”

Not being one for long drawn out conversations, not usually at least, it was safe to say that Loki had spoken enough for now, at least almost anyway. “So, that finally brings me to what I want with you Dramanius…or to better put it, what I am offering you.” Slowly Loki made his way towards Dramanius, placing his pale hand upon his shoulder in an attempt to turning him around to face the same way as Loki was now looking. “I, Loki, have ventured into four different levels of hell, obliterated their rulers and claimed the level for myself…a man with your intelligence must know, from that tiny bit of information alone, what I am planning to do…” Loki turned to look at Dramanius, who stood taller than he did.

“I want you to take control as ruler of one of my four levels of hell. Bend and shape it to your will, so as you wish with it. Come and go from hell and Dragonia, and do as you wish while you are there…but swear allegiance to me,” he continued, placing his other hand upon Dramanius other shoulder. “Swear allegiance to me and I swear to you that in the future your plan that you attempted to unfold on Dragonia will come to pass, and you will get revenge on those who took part in your death.”

[kihaku]

This man is planning a hostile takeover of Hell!? Well, Dramanius couldn't say the man isn't ambitious. To start as one of nine, and then manage to rise so high on the ladder was definitely something Dramanius knew about, in fact, he was one of five at one point, but quickly became the most wanted on the planet in less than two day's time. This... Loki had a lot going for him, and despite Dramanius' early tauntings, must have a lot of power if he was able to defeat three other Lords in their own level.

Still, the offer he was making was certainly tempting. The promise of his own level of Hell, access to the mortal plane as often as he liked... and then to finally get his revenge on those who contributed to his death. That was just the cherry on top of the sundae. "I can swallow your terms, but let's get one thing straight," having Loki so close allowed Dramanius to look down with his malicious, black eyes into the remorseless red pits that were his companion's, "'allegience,' means that when it comes to fighting, I am with you, but I am not your bitch to command as you please."

He gently took Loki's wrists and lifted them off his shoulders, taking a step back and presenting himself as an ally, one who is more than willing to fight with him, but will never bend to his will as a servant, as Natas sounds to be. "If fighting and a few... vivolent tasks is all you need me for, then by all means, my allegience is yours."

[Ryan - Loki]

Loki had prepared the bait, laid it out and waited for the fish to bite, and bite he did. With such a tantalisingly tempting offer how could anyone refuse? Loki was nothing but pure, unadulterated evil, and thus knew the way one such as himself thought. Loki had suffered defeat to Ryan and had lost his life, however momentarily it may have been, and nothing burned stronger than the thought of revenge when he thought about his other half; it was almost certainly the same for Dramanius and all those who had played a part in his death.

Perfect! Loki barely managed to contain his euphoria to his thoughts. Slowly but surely he was gaining powerful being after powerful being to join his army of few, and now he had a being of such immense power that, combined with that of his own, could finally transform hell and finally finish stage one of his grand scheme. “Excellent Dramanius,” is all that Loki said, his voice stern and as cold as it had been throughout the entire conversation.

“Don’t worry, if I wanted you as one of my slaves I wouldn’t have asked…and we wouldn’t have been having this conversation.” it was a bold statement to say the least but some honesty did reside within his words, in this realm Loki held dominance in power. “I grant you ownership over level four…although that wont matter for long as extremely soon things are going to change in hell, and you, Dramanius, are the key to how soon that is…” Loki was smirking, his excitement beginning to show somewhat as he casually walked about in front of Dramanius.

“Confused? I am about to make sure Lucifer knows exactly what he is dealing with…I’ll make sure that he notices our little uprising.” fist clenched in front of his face Loki was shaking through the anger brought forward from the mere mention of Lucifers name. Loki had never truly forgotten the embarrassment that he had suffered in front of his creator, and what he could only call his first love, Lilith, at Lucifers hand; revenge would be his, that much he was absolutely sure of.

“Dramanius,” he began, calmly once more, having lowered his hand to his side. “I will first finally open the doors to each and every one of my levels of hell, and unleash from within a power that will rock the very foundations of hell. What I need from you is for you to channel your chaos energy through me…I will combine it with my own powers, and with our powers combine I will transform plain of hell to one gigantic land, a land of territories rather than levels,” Loki span round to look at Dramanius. “and then Lucifer will have no way of hiding away in his level of hell! He will be forced to face me! And after I destroy him it shall be us who rule supreme, and all of Dragonia will know of our presence…we’ll bring hell to Dragonia.”

[kihaku]

Loki had definitely thought out his whole scheme to the letter. If it had taken only up until now for this person before him to conquer another four levels of Hell, where each Lord is nearly invincible, then to change the very plane of existence in such a radical way would certainly leave no place for any soul to hide. The plan sounded... perfect. Dramanius had only once before encountered a plan that seemed as flawless as this, and that had gotten him killed. The only difference was, this time, Dramanius wouldn't be alone.

A slight smirk on his face, Dramanius took step back before kicking hard with his right knee, the Kasaneru Tsumi flipping gracefully out of its sheath and into the Chaos Spirit's hand. Raising it above his head, he brought it down, burying its point into whatever Hell's approximation of the ground was. Feet shoulder-width apart, he gently clasped his hands behind his back, and stood awaiting instructions.

"Well... what now?"

[Ryan - Loki]

Almost instantaneously Loki could feel the serge of what seemed to be nothing short of raw power. This ‘chaos energy’ was most certainly a force to be reckoned with. “This power…” for a brief moment Loki had become unconsciously drunk in the power that his new ally had granted him, it was unlike anything he had ever experienced in his lifetime. Unlike Dramanius Loki wasn’t built to withstand the raw force of chaos energy, and with it mixed with his own energy it had caused him to momentary surpass all forms of life - whether or not this was fact or egotistic thought could not be proved, but he soon regained himself.

“never before have I felt such a raw power.” he muttered, shaking his head clear of thought. “Chaos…all things are born of chaos, all things die in chaos…and so shall be the same with hell.” slowly but surely Loki raised both of his arms out either side of his body, his palms facing up towards the sky, as he tipped his head backwards and let out an omnipotent roar that seemed to shake the very foundations of their surroundings.

Out of nowhere a burning inferno erupted from within Loki, surrounding him, Dramanius and the surrounding area, as it burned high into the sky. The oranges, reds and yellows flickering between each other in an seemingly endless waltz, graceful yet dangerous to a fault. The ground continued to shake as rubble broke away and loose stones from the floor seemingly lifted off of the ground, deifying gravity. The sky turned crimson before darkening over in grey clouds, orange lightning zigzagging across the sky. Suddenly a singular bolt of orange lightning flew down from the sky above and struck Loki, which seemingly caused a sudden burst of purple to erupt outward into the fire, overpowering the oranges, reds and yellows; the chaos energy.

“Can you feel it Dramanius?!” Loki screamed out over the sound of the gushing wind that had now picked up. “The sound of change. Here it comes!” with a roar that echoed out into the emptiness of the level, and that in itself seemed to shake the ground around them much like an earthquake would have done. In a unbelievable explosion the chaos fire that covered Loki and Dramanius rocketed out and covered the entire level of hell in a purple blaze. Unable to see it with their eyes, but most likely able to feel it, the blaze crossed the planes of hell and also covered Loki’s other levels of hell, including the levels that Natas owned.

Within seconds the fire had transgressed through the possible barriers that protected a lords level of hell from intruders and the entire span of hell was ablaze with Loki, and Dramanius’, power; nothing, nowhere, and no one was safe. Through the fire nothing could be seen, nothing but the flickering purple that resided around everyone and everything, it was much like an incredibly thick fog. The fire continued to blaze for minutes after it first appeared, but the confusion would burn much longer after it was extinguished. Then, just as sudden as it had appeared to everyone, it had vanished. All had returned back to normal, yet at the same time everything couldn’t have changed more.

Somewhat drained from the entire process Loki fell down upon his left knee, his chest feeling as if it was going to explode with each exhale; a normal being was never meant to harness chaos energy, that much was certain. Slowly he lifted his head, bead after bead of sweat dripping down his brow, and looked at his new domain. Seemingly stretching endlessly remained Loki’s tranquil paradise, in tact and apparently more beautiful than ever, but beyond that now resided another plane, and another after that, and another after that. Loki, with Dramanius’ help, had successfully forced all the levels of hell together into one large plane; a world underneath a world.

“All the lords of hell reside within this one world now…each of their levels nothing more than territories in what will soon be my world…” Loki laughed, rather exhaustedly. “You’ve been back no more than twenty minutes and already you’ve re-shaped hell.” with a grunt of exertion Loki placed his hands upon his knee and forced himself to stand, turning his head somewhat to look at Dramanius, a smirk upon his face. “Lets cause some havoc.”