The fruit of vengeance

Drenched in a desolation that mirrored the rain-soaked despair within him, Rain discovered himself ensnared within an empty void. Stripped of not only his clothes but also any semblance of solace, he stood amidst an expanse that seemed to stretch into an abyss of infinite darkness. A spectral hollowness clung to the air, echoing the emptiness within his soul.

For an interminable half-hour, Rain drifted through the void, his every step a solemn echo in the vastness of nothingness. The oppressive silence, punctuated only by the soft patter of his own footfalls, emphasized the haunting absence of life. His gaze, laden with a sorrow so profound it eclipsed the inky void, sought something—anything—that might tether him to a reality beyond the encompassing darkness.

With each aimless stride, the yearning for connection and the ache of isolation deepened, casting a somber pallor over his spirit. The ethereal shadows seemed to absorb his very essence, leaving him an ephemeral wraith lost in the expanse of his own solitude

Mephisto; “Well…. that took longer than I thought, sorry for that.”

Rain; “YOU! YOU DID ALL OF THIS!” Rain shouts as he as attempt to punch Mephisto.

Mephisto; “Ah! Ah! Ah! Don’t start with that now, why are you humans always looking for a fight, here I am just trying to make conversation and you start hitting me,” he replied as he easily avoids all of Rain's hits.

Rain; “Conversation? Me and you have nothing to talk about.”

Mephisto; “Is that so? And I was just about to congratulate you.”

Rain; “Congratulate, me? For what? Being killed by my own mother? Betrayed by the one I love?”

Mephisto; “Ahhhhh! Love, it’s always love isn’t it. Who? The mage girl? Were you two a thing or something? I’m sorry I didn't know.”

Rain; “Who I love is none of your business, demon.”

Mephisto; “Ahhh, that’s sad, then, hey… at least she didn’t raise her hand for your , you may still have a chance with her, you know?”

Rain; “A chance? What do you mean demon, I died, there’s no turning back from that.”

Mephisto; “Ahhhh, is that so? And who decided that?”

Rain; “Stop saying ahhhhhh, it’s irritating.”

Mephisto; “Ahhhh, does this annoy you?” Mephisto says as he teleports behind Rain whispering in his ear.

Rain attempted to hit him, Mephisto teleports in front of him before he could even make a move.

Rain; “Ughhhh, you were saying something about a chance, start explaining....”

Mephisto; “Of course, I'm here to offer you your reward, for clearing my gate.”

Rain; “Clearing your gate? In case you forgot, I died clearing your gate.”

Mephisto; “Ah! Ah! Ah! But the gate was cleared, wasn't it? You should pay more attention when people are speaking, you know?”

Rain; “What do you mean?”

Mephisto; “Didn’t I say that ALL of you will be given a reward for clearing my gate? And I meant ALL of you, yes, even you.”

Rain; “And what’s my reward?”

Mephisto; “DRUM ROLLS PLEASEEEE! *beating drums sounds could be heard within the empty void* TA-DA! This, this is your reward.”

Rain; “A cube? What am I going to do with a cube?”

Mephisto; “Not the cube, but what it contains, it is true, you died, and even I can’t bring YOU back, buuuuuuuuuuuut I can bring you back.”

Rain; “Ha? You’re not making any sense.”

Mephisto; “This is what is known as an apple of Eden,” Mephisto says, opening the cube revealing a red apple inside.

Rain; “An apple? What is this going to do?”

Mephisto; “Do you know the story of Lucifer, my dumb witted father?”

Rain; “Everyone knows, he was casted out from the High Heavens, after he led a rebellion against the creation of mankind.”

Mephisto; “Ah! Ah! Ah! That’s what you’ve been let to believe by that idiotic Goddess, my father had no problem with mankind in fact he was in awe of them, he loved them so much that made Ariel angered with him and propose to him a test, a test for his beloved humans. He had to recruit two of his most trusted humans and place them within a garden, then he had to tempt them with this,” Mephisto says, lifting the apple up.

Rain; “Tempt them with an apple from the garden of Eden, although I remember reading it differently.”

Mephisto; “Same story, different versions and all of them are true, you see my father had so much faith in humankind that he raised the stakes. He wanted to see the humans alive, truly alive where they were meant to belong, free of Heaven's rule and away from Ariel. He knew Ariel would not agree to his terms of setting the humans free from the High Heavens so he upped the bet, he proposed to Ariel to have the apples rotting from within, rotten with dark magic, a single bite from this would’ve turned them into something else, something not human, a demon, although it did not have a name at that time.”

Rain; “So? What happened next?”

Mephisto; “Ahhhhh, finally getting interested?”

Rain; “You could say that…”

Mephisto; “So, the bet started, my father picked two of the most humble humans he could find and placed them into the garden of Eden, telling them, whatever they do here, they are not allowed to eat from that apple tree, everything else was free game. They lasted a few years, not going to lie, buuuuuut as you know …. one of them finally gave in, and ate one of the apples. Her body started to change immediately and in her new form, losing her sanity she murdered the other human that was there with her. So my father lost the bet. Now he stood in front of the High Council with zero regard towards humanity as they failed him.”

Rain; “I’m sure humans roam Goetia and are pretty free as of late, how is that possible if what you say is true?”

Mephisto; “Relax, I’m getting there, the punishment that was set for my father was the worst outcome he could have hoped for, now with his new found knowledge of how the humans truly are, the last thing he wanted for humanity was to be set free from the High Heavens and Ariel knew this, therefore she let them free, much to my father’s dismay and pleas. Not only that but she him to take a bite too from what he created, now no longer an angel, he became the second demon that was born into the world, the first one being the human female from the garden, Lilith, my mother. They were both exiled from the High Heavens and sent to purgatory, where we all live right now.”

Rain; “Ok, assuming all you said was true, when we enter the gates from Goetia, are we entering purgatory?”

Mephisto; “Yes, but not really, you see my father made the gates and placed them in a certain time span, you will only see within that gate everything and every demon that was there at the moment the gate was created, nothing less nothing more, and it does not cover a large area, that’s why when you enter, you can only go so far.”

Rain; “So how does the apple help me?”

Mephisto; “I’m getting there too, you see, when you take a bite from this, you will no longer be a human, you will become a demon, yet you will retain your memories and some changes will be made to your body, it will still be you, but not really.”

Rain; “Not really?”

Mephisto; “Exactly, there will be changes in how you will perceive everything around you, for example you may not feel anything as you slaughter an infant, or as you take the life of the one you hold most dear, you see, demons do not shed tears. But that all differs from demon to demon whether you may be able to fight your inner demon or not, that depends on you and your actions, the further down the rabbit hole you go the further your feelings fade. Don’t worry demon life is not as bad as I make it to be, it comes with some perks too, your power will start growing exponentially, you may get attributes you didn’t had before, the more you act as a demon the stronger you will become, just make sure not to cross the threshold, there’s no coming back from going full demon.”

Rain; “And if I ate that? Will you be able to send me back?”

Mephisto; “Yes, I can't bring a human back to life, but a demon….. I… can.” Mephisto said with a grin on his face so vile and malevolent that it made Rain sick.

Rain; “So? How is this going to work?”

Mephisto; “Your body is still on my altar, there was a reason why you had to be killed with this knife,” Mephisto says, pulling out the knife with Rain's blood still on it.

Rain; “What reason?”

Mephisto; “You see this is my father’s knife, he uses it to open the gates, with it I can create another one, leading towards humanity, all you have to do is survive it and in 6 days the gate will open and you will be able to roam free.”

Rain; “There are too many ifs and buts here, so much for a reward…”

Mephisto; “I will at least make sure to place the gate somewhere at the edge of the world, somewhere where no one could get there easily, it’s a reward after all,” Mephisto says waving the knife.

Rain; “What grade?”

Mephisto; “Uhmmm, eat the apple first, it will depend on the power boost you get from it, but…since you will be the only demon inside and seeing how a gate, although modified severely by me that contained only me, was A rank, I don't think yours will be higher.”

Rain's life starts flashing before his eyes, all he could think of was , against those who betrayed him, all he wanted was to make them suffer, Helena flashes before his eyes giving him a gentle smile... Her "I'm sorry" gentle voice roams through his head. He starts biting the apple making sure he ate all of it.

Rain drops on the ground.

Mephisto; “Hungry, aren’t ya?”

Rain; “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!” Rain screamed as he felt a tremendous pain in his belly. He's bones start breaking one by one, he start puking and quickly puts his hand at his mouth making sure to not puke any of the apple parts.

He spent the next 30 minutes in pain as his body changes bit by bit. With an anger in his eyes that makes Mephisto happy with his choice.

30 minutes later; Rain finally stood up.

Rainheart Pheles
Demon, son of Mephisto Pheles
Age: ??????
Dark/Wind attributes

Rain; “I’ve never felt power like this before, this is how my mother must feel,” Rain said as he swung his katana a few times feeling the power behind it.

Mephisto; “Ahhhhh, this is nothing compared to what you can become, this is but a start, I see the potential in you, perhaps you will be the one …..”

Mephisto is stopped from his words as Rain unleashed a swing at him with his sword.

He blocks it, Rain was not sure at the time if he was too fast for Mephisto to evade it or he simply did not care enough to do so.

Mephisto; “Again with this…..ughhh....” Mephisto responded, slightly frustrated.

Rain; “Just wanted to see the difference, nothing more,” Rain replied as he start limbering up.

Mephisto; “Good, move back a little, this is going to take a while,” Mephisto says as he starts carving through dimensions with the knife making a pentagram.

After a few more minutes he was done.

Mephisto; “There, all good to go, time to say our goodbyes,” Mephisto says as he opens another dimension behind him.

Rain; “I’ve been thinking all this time, what do you stand to gain from all of this? And I couldn't find an answer, I know you won’t tell me either so there’s no point in asking, for now… I’ll guess I’ll just go along with it, but don’t think you can fuck me over easily, if that’s what you plan....”

Mephisto gives Rain a grin, the same one that made him sick to his stomach, earlier.

Mephisto; “Let’s just say, I like to have fun and purgatory is quite boring.”

Rain; “Will you be able to see what I do, outside?”

Mephisto; “Of course, I can even contact you from time to time and give you pointers if you want.”

Rain; “No, thank you.”

Mephisto; “Ahhhhh, don’t be mean now, we just started getting along.”

Rain; “Getting along? You made my friends and family kill me, at what point did you think we were getting along?”

Mephisto; “Made them kill you? I did no such thing, I gave them options, more than that, I made you see them for what they truly were, you should be thanking me.”

Rain; “Humph…” Rain scoffed, was it his new found demon cells acting? He couldn’t hope but to agree to some degree with what Mephisto was saying.

Rain entered the gate without saying goodbye to him.

Mephisto; “Let the game begin,” Mephisto said in a calm and cold voice as he walked backwards into his own portal, with his sight set on Rain.

---

Rain found himself standing upon the ominous altar, the very same sacrificial altar upon which his soul, had met a tragic fate. The cold stone beneath his feet carried the weight of dark memories, and as he surveyed the scene, a disquieting realization washed over him—he was in his demonic form, a manifestation of the unearthly power that coursed through his veins. This was no mere dream; the grim reality of his transformation bore witness to the sinister events that had unfolded.

Rising from the altar, Rain cast his eyes upon the surroundings. The citadel's altar, though familiar, seemed subtly altered, as if touched by the ethereal residue of the ritual that had transpired. Before him, an imposing gate stood, adorned with a mysterious timer ticking away with cruel precision—5 days, 7 hours, and 59 minutes. It was a temporal sentence hanging ominously over him, a countdown to an unknown destiny. Despite his past successes in overcoming various gates, this timer presented an enigma he had never encountered before.

Beneath the relentless countdown, cryptic symbols and writings sprawled, defying Rain's attempts at deciphering their meaning. It was a language unknown to his senses, an unfathomable script that only added to the oppressive atmosphere. The unfamiliarity of this inscription hinted at a realm beyond his understanding, a foreboding territory where the rules of engagement were shrouded in ambiguity.

As Rain grappled with the unsettling revelations, a minuscule magic gate materialized before him, and through its ethereal portal emerged a monstrous entity. From the depths of the unknown, the creature materialized, a harbinger of challenges yet to unfold. The air crackled with tension as Rain confronted not only the enigmatic timer but also the imminent threat that had materialized from the arcane depths of the magical gate, signaling that the true test on this altered playing field had only just begun.

Lurial; “Gree..eee..eee..tiiinnggs, Raa..iii..nn, ss..oon of Mephisto, I amm Luuuuriiiiaaaallll,” the creatures speaks as it hovers up and down in the air, Rain did not know if it was drunk or just a big brained, yet small minded creature.

Rain; “Son of what now?” Rain asked, slightly confused.

Lurial; “Youu...creaateed froom Aplllle..Lord Mephisto gav…..eee applee, gga...veee lifee.”

Rain; “Huh? I guess you could see it that way.”

For some reason this did not bother Rain.

Lurial; “III… here too pres..eent taas….kkk, cleear gaa….te reqquir….meent.”

Rain; “Ok, so what’s the requirement, Lurial?” Rain asked as he poked the creature.

Lurial; “Sto….ppp, Llluuuuriaaaaal sensitiveee, reeq…uuirment siii….mmple, Raainn, must bee aa…..liiiivee at the end oooof the tiiiiim…..er.”

Rain; “I see, Lurial, may I know the rank of the gate?”

Lurial; “Gaa…..tee rannk, wrritten bee….loow tiiiiimmer, Raaain blind?”

Rain; “No my weird friend, Rain does not understand the language.”

Lurial; “Raaainnn ..not …kn...ow Lilim? How aree wee sppeakiiiin….gg right n..oow?”

Lurial; “Heee…..ree, book, lea….rn, raank set to A for Raain gaa..tee.” Lurial said, opening a gate from above, while a book fell down on the ground from the gate.

Rain; “Thank you, at least I'll have something to do for the time being.”

Lurial; “Good luuucck, s…son of Lord Mephisto,” Lurial said as he went back from the gate he came out of.

---

Dedicated to mastering the intricacies of the demon tongue, Rain devoted his day to rigorous training and extensive reading. As he immersed himself in the cryptic language, contemplating how he might endure the forthcoming challenges without the sustenance of water or food, a sudden luminosity enveloped the gate.
A cohort of fifteen adventurers materialized through the illuminated gateway, their diverse races forming a motley assembly united by the emblem of their guild. Amidst the humans, Rain discerned the distinctive features of dwarfs and elves, an eclectic mix bound by the common purpose of dungeon exploration. Positioned at the heart of the group stood an imposing orc, a silent testament to his role as the squad leader in this enigmatic domain.

Drawing upon his own experiences as both an adventurer and a loyal companion at his mother's side, Rain couldn't help but scrutinize the newcomers. His discerning gaze dissected their gear, assessed their classes, and delved into the nuances of their individual abilities. A quick inventory revealed a balanced ensemble—three healers, four formidable tanks, five adept mages, and three individuals exuding a more clandestine, rogue-like demeanor. As Rain analyzed their potential threat, he gauged the power dynamics within the group.

The orc, a formidable figure of authority, resonated with an A+ ranking in Rain's estimation, and one of the healers shared a similar echelon of expertise. The rest of the group, ranging between B and A, possessed a formidable collective prowess that hinted at a seasoned and well-balanced team.

In a moment charged with tension, the adventurers locked eyes with Rain, their expressions revealing a blend of curiosity and wariness. Recognizing the unspoken challenge that hung in the air, Rain, with a measured grace, gently placed his book on the ground. The quiet gesture marked the commencement of an unspoken understanding, a silent acknowledgment that within the confines of this mysterious gate, fates were bound to intersect.