Meanwhile, what he had dreaded the most was happening, about hundreds of the beasts that were all down below the building had started climbing, furiously. They had sensed him;
Nothing would have thrown somebody down from that height unless somebody else was there.
Dax, now irrevocably panic-stricken, felt a nihilistic surrender swell within him, he has finally given up hope. He knew what it took him to take down one, with every ounce of desperation he could muster, and barely survived now imagine taking down hundreds of them.
He was still an unchosen, and worse of it all, he had no armour, no weapon.
Or was this because he had thrown down the worst person in the world, and this was the best way the Harness saw fit to punish him?
The beasts, some of which were now almost reaching the height at which he was, had launched up, paws stretched out for him, maws unhinged and ravenous, ready to suck him dry of his soul.
But then, from the storm came a very sharp and huge sword, formed from the lightning itself. As it moved, it left behind a chromatic blur.
It swept through the building like an apocalypse, swivelling with a velvety red haze, clearing its path.
And every beast it made contact with turned to dust and dredge instantly. It was the best sight Dax had ever seen, maybe because it had saved his ass, or because it looked impeccable.
The only person, or should he rather say, the only force, that he deemed capable of doing such a thing was maybe the entity that is the Nexer. But the last time they met, the Nexer didn't take it lightly with him, so why in the world would he want to save him now?
But something else was happening. interrupting His speculation abruptly.
From the heart of the storm a horde descended, a flutter of what looked like bats.
The bats had now swooped down on him, their wings beating hard against him in a frenetic vortex as they swam around him, circling him wildly. He was trying his best to protect his eyes from being gouged by the wild things.
Then what happened next was so breath-taking and had happened so fast, the bats now fluttered off around him and then all of them flew inches away from him towards his right.
And then, slowly, the bats ceased their erratic flight and clustered together, forming a swirling maelstrom of wings and darkness.
But as they swirled, something was forming, very swiftly and surreal and yet paranormally, almost too perfect to be real. And then, from the heart of the swirling bats, appeared someone. His long overcoat suit hauled in the air behind him, on catching the wind.
On his head was a round-edged hat, on top his dark shimmering, obsidian hair. A well-carved line of hair ran through his perfect jawline and matched his red-ringed iris.
In his left hand, he held what looked like the short curved handle of an umbrella, but it was golden and looked rich. His head was bent, he never entered without making a flawless and unadulterated entry.
Slowly, he raised his head as an unreadable smile lit his face, as usual, and he held the tip of his round-edged hat and made his best gesture, a slight languid bow.
Daxon stared at him. Well, coming from the heart of the storm, which had now calmed down, he guessed maybe he was the one that had taken down all those beasts. And just like that, his question was answered.
Blue, red, and purple glow started emanating from the dust that had come from the slain beasts. All of them aligned, and with a very fast sound, they all made contact with his chest and disappeared into him. He absorbed their energy.
The man felt a flush of energy enter him, but he didn't even flinch. He was used to that feeling, and the fact was that it didn't even make up for the energy he had used to kill them all.
With a very calm voice, one he always used, he asked,
"Not even a thank you huh?"
Daxon stared at him, still aghast. He had come out from bats, why shouldn't he be dangerous? For all he knows, anything here could be a test.
Noticing his silence and confused face, he added,
"My bad… allow me to introduce my evil self… I am Lucivar, one of the twin lords… the progenitor of the Beyonders and the devil himself."
Daxon had this look in his eyes that said, Hell yeah, you are, but what in the actual hell? Why should the devil be seeing me now? Lucivar looked at him. His silence made him feel uncomfortable.
Was he dumb, or had his weak will entered his brain and faltered his tone? Now pacing gently, his hands behind his back, his words now laced with sarcasm, he said,
"You know, for a young boy like you, you say the F-word too much. I mean, what the fuck and..."
Daxon chirped in immediately, finding his voice,
"I know what you mean… what the fuck do you want with me? The last time I checked, I wanted nothing to do with the devil."
Lucivar chuckled darkly. Of course he'd say that. Everyone does. They abhor him while blaming him for every evil act humans commit.
"It's always 'the Devil made me do it,'" he mocked. "Yet they want nothing to do with me. Hypocrisy at its finest." But that was by the way. He had urgent business.
He cleared his throat. Now he had stopped pacing, and his gaze was affixed to Dax. He began,
"Do you know that there are many other universes out there?"
Daxon squinted, frowning a bit, wondering how that answered his question. But he shook his head as Lucivar continued,
"Well kid, there are many, and all of them are perfect. Where God likes his creation, and he adores them, especially when they praise and glorify him."
He sniggered as he continued,
"But one thing that amuses me is that there, the devil is said to be an angel.... an angel of light. And he goes by this pathetic name: Lucifer Morningstar. A servant to God. A lightbearer, but then cast to hell for stupid reasons."
He beamed at Dax, who listened with utter curiosity. He had never heard of that. For all he knows, and all they taught about religion in school and churches, was that the devil is everywhere and that he was the anger, hate, sin that everyone feels.
Lucivar continued,"
Now there is another universe, an inverse, an opposite, a counterpart, and it turns out to be this… this aberration of a universe, where God has two sons. And the devil, who supposedly should be an angel, turns out to be his son.
...And he despised him even before he was born, and loathed me more when I was born, for I had killed his lovely whore of a wife, my mother."
His eyes narrowed. No guilt written in them. That was not supposed to make Dax surprised, he was the devil; why should he care?
"…But do you know what else God, my father, despised…?"
"N..." Dax was about to say, but was cut off.
"Shh… that was rhetorical… Well, what he hated... except for me... was his creation: Earth. And he wants to destroy it," Lucivar snapped in.
Daxon now looked down at the floor of the roof, his blood chilled. It made sense now.
"The Parallax," he muttered. "That is how God, your father, wants to use and destroy us."
Lucivar nodded. He knew that Dax was smart and would assimilate the knowledge very quickly. His normal mischievous smile lined his face again in contempt.
Dax now had one question lingering in his mind, and he let it out without much deliberation.
"Why are you telling me all this?"
Lucivar looked at him. He loved that question, it meant that they were heading somewhere. calmly, he replied,
"Because I see myself in you. You and I are different, true... but the contrast between us is just epochs of existence and colossal power. But you see, at our core, we're kindred. You just killed an innocent girl. On a normal day, it might be due to anger, but what would have made you different was if you felt sorry for it. But you didn't. Rather, you loved it."
Daxon was now bewildered. How did he know about that? But his astonishment was that he was correct. He had loved it, when he killed them both. And he would like it if the hands of the clock revolved so that he could do it again.
But that doesn't mean he wanted to become one with the devil.
Did it? He asked himself, was he broken, or was he now so cold-hearted that he seemed not to care anymore? But Malfoy deserved it, every bit of it.
And how sure was he that this man standing right in front of him wasn't lying to him or trying to manipulate him?
"Why should I believe you?" he asked, the defiance in his tone cracking just slightly.
"I would have just used my powers and lured you to my will, but I decided to pay you a visit," Lucivar answered.
"And do you wonder why you, a weak-willed soul, were selected for the Trinity?"
"I seem to believe it was a mistake, maybe a fault in the system." Daxon answered, with a soft and innocent shrug.
"It wasn't a mistake. Rather, it was a calling, one that you should rejoice over."
Daxon looked at him, a bit baffled. What did he mean, rejoice over? Lucivar looked at him, his stare now piercing more than ever, as he said with finality:
"You were chosen by me."