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Devildom, despite being a literal place in hell, doesn't look much like how humans would portray the realm where demons live.
Sure, the place lacks a blue sky, along with sunshine and its warmth. But the streets are bright and lighted by magical lamps that glitter like fireflies, not with hellfire and brimstones. The sky is not an endless dark void devoid of hope, it is quite the opposite. Littered with glimmering stars and mapped constellations of their own.
The towns and cities, everywhere in this realm are full of noises. Not by the sound of screaming and shouting of tortured souls, or by the rattlings of chains and sizzling irons, not as far as you can see or hear, that is. But it's simply because this realm is a lively and bustling place where demons, walk, talk, work, shop, and well, live.
Your senses are flooded by beautiful sights that leave you in awe, waves of laughter and cheers from demons and witches alike, divine smells of fragrances you would never find back home, and an array of bizarre yet tasty food. The things that you won't see in your everyday lives in the human world. Temptation, it's all temptation, and it's all around you. Of course, with the help of the Seven lords of hell who had become very dear people to you, you fit just right in. And in the span of less than a year, Devildom has become a second home to you. Keeping your eyes and ears wide open for all of its many surprises and shenanigans by its denizen.
With many of the surprises this place has in store, you should've expected something to come at you every day. Expecting the unexpected. But nothing had prepared you for this one surprise today.
Today, something felt... different. At first, you don't know what it was, you just feel like something's not right. Like something that is not supposed to be there, or something that isn't there. Something felt out of place, misplaced. But you don't know what it is.
You figured it was probably nothing. Maybe it's your imagination or that you haven't been feeling well. A trick of the mind. You ignore it. And you continue your days as if it's another normal day in the Devildom.
Then, you first felt it on your skin. The air is stifling, an unbearable heat like the hottest day of the summer. Every breath you take felt like fire burning down your throat. The RAD uniform that usually keeps you warm with its many layers (no matter how complicated it is to put them on) from the chilly Devildom weather, is now suffocating your breath and seems to be too tight for your body. Even every surface is hot to the touch. There's still no sun in the Devildom, but this is probably what walking on one feels like. Perhaps finally befitting for the descriptions of hell you're familiar with.
The signs are getting much more clearer, your sights are definitely not fooling you. When you look up, there is no star to be found. The sky is no longer filled with them, but it wasn't an empty void as well. The sky you were staring at was red. Only for one second until you blink. It then changes into green, blue, black and white. Static, like a broken television. If you squint hard enough, you swore you can see shadowy faces looking down on you.
Buildings around you too are in unidentified shapes. One moment you take in a deep breath and they're well and standing tall. Mighty and proud. The next time you exhale they are suddenly in rubles, broken, coated in ashes and dust. Fallen hubris like its inhabitants.
Speaking of inhabitants, the same fate apparently has befallen the residents. Demons, succubi, and incubi you'd usually pass and greet at RAD hallways, are now merely grey figures standing still. Devoid of aimless chatters, giggles, and laughter. Frozen in time and place. You couldn't even tell which one is the head or tail, wings or horns.
The Lil' Ds who would usually skitter around the hall doing tasks and helping Barbatos out, looks nothing more than another pile of faceless black goo. All of them doing nothing but flashing and flickering, in and out of existence. Like a broken video game.
Yes, just like a video game.
Don't you think you should stop here? You probably should, right?
For some reason, you decided to continue your day as usual. Ignoring your surroundings, you march onto the academy building. There are times when you'd close your eyes and when you open them again, everything reverts to its normal state. As if whatever that madness you saw has never happened. So you'll take your chances, and hope that your day will not get any weirder. It did get worse.
Besides, you have tasks to do. And you're going to need some help with that.
As ridiculous as your task is, being a routine dance battle, you still stood below the stage where the performance will take place. Or rather, that high platform that looks like it's about to fall apart any second. Even in that state, six figures were already standing on it, ready to perform and show off their moves and magic. Of course, their forms have suffered the same fate too. You have no idea who you are facing today. It could be the Lil Ds as usual on your left up there. Or perhaps, you're up against the Purgatory Hall today? It could even be the royal duo themselves, with one of the brothers as your opponent.
Meanwhile, your team on the right has also taken their positions. Ah, so they did hear your summons. But who heard your call? It could be any of them up there. That deformed flickering figure on the right might just be Leviathan, or even Asmodeus for all you know. The white thatch of unruly hair attached to another one of the figures could've belonged to Mammon, or it might even be Solomon's silver hair. You're sure that it's Lucifer taking center stage and leading the trio as usual, although you swore that you saw his raven hair and ruby red eyes flickered to a tuft of blonde and a pair of green eyes.
This is really getting out of hand, you should really stop before things get even worse-
You try not to think too much about who's up there, just glad that they are there. You just need to get through this one task, and maybe when you're done, things would return to normal again. As the lights come on and the music began to play, both teams start moving their body and following the rhythm. You hold the dulling glowsticks in your hands and wave them along to the beat, cheering them on until your voice is hoarse and your throat is dry.
Time passed, and soon the music stops. Replaced by phantom claps and cheers surrounding your lone figure at the empty audience. The spotlight directed itself to the right as the team on your left retreated to the back of the stage, leaving your team to take a bow and celebrate their win. Looks like your task is done...
One of them, a grey pixelated figure with no face or any distinguishing features, walks towards you and greeted you. More statics, like a language you don't recognize. But by the sound of it, you can vaguely hear His voice speaking fondly and excitedly. He offered his hand(s?) up. A high five. You return the gesture, expecting your hand to pass through the bundle of pixels like air. It did not. He seems to be pleased, but who is he??
You don't know what to say, you don't know what to do either. You just stood and stare. Usually, you would've given them some refreshments or gifts, as a token of gratitude for their hard work, but everything in your possession has turned into unidentified matters that smell like burnt metal and acid. The figure that stood before you doesn't look like anyone you recognize, so you're unsure about what you should do.
If you try to touch him again, what will happen? How do you even fix this mess?
You extended your hands. Gently, you cup his face and try to make sense of all of this mind fuckery. You felt him freezes at your touch, but he didn't relax. He literally froze in place, and you took notice that your surroundings have too.
You called out His(?) name. No response. You tried shaking him, hands on his shoulders(??). Still nothing, everything is still too hot. Panicking would be an appropriate response to this situation, and you've been keeping everything inside from the moment you encounter all this madness. What else can you do? You tried running away, but apparently, you are also stuck in place. You turned back to see if he was still there, but...
Dark. Everything is suddenly dark. Dark, dark, dark...
And you are alone.
*BZZZT-*
Your phone buzzed as the screen turned dark in your hand, indicating that it has run out of battery. Great, just great. Why is it always when you're doing your daily tasks? You touched the back of your phone to check on the battery. Overheated, of course, from the amount of time you've been using it. You sighed and put it down on your desk, also grabbing your charger to refill the battery.
Better give it some time to cool down before I can resume the game.