To hold on

The voice of the light sounded curious, almost excited: "You are conscious, aren't you? And you can hear me? Fascinating."

'Yes, i can hear you', Caroline wanted to say, but although she tried hard, she couldn't hear herself making any sound. However the light apparently needed no audible answer.

"Incredible. I haven't felt such a powerful soul in several millennia."

A powerful soul? Millennia? As in millennium? A thousand years? Who and what was the light? Caroline was more than confused. What the fuck was happening, and where the hell was she?

"So many questions, so little time. But 'hell' is quite correct. While your body is still very much on your own plane, chained and bound within a pentagram in the middle of a satanic ritual, your spirit on the other hand has entered the limbo and taken it's first steps on it's journey towards hell."

A journey towards hell? Could it be true? But why? Caroline has always been a good girl...

"You will find that the satanists care very little about how nice you have been in your life and what you think about yourself. They don't care about the concepts of good and evil. And neither does the 'Devil's Breath' make any distinction in that regard..."

The Devil's Breath?

"The pungent smoke, which you are **** to inhale. It is called Devil's Breath. It has taken hold of your body and it continues to corrupt your soul even as we speak. That you have resisted so far is a miracle.”

How do i fight it?

"Fight it? You have such a fierce spirit... But no, you cannot fight it. As long as your body is chained to the pentagram, as long as you are exposed to the smoke and the ritual, there is nothing you can do. Not much longer, and you will revel in the wickedness and fiendish lust that only hell has to offer. And once you do embrace the Fallen Angel, the cultist will likely sacrifice your body in his name. Or your soul. Or both.”

So it's hopeless?

"I didn't say that... it's true, your body doesn't have the strength to break it's chains. But it's also true that an ordinary soul would have been overwhelmed within moments, and we wouldn't be having this conversation. Though even a spirit as extraordinary as yours cannot withstand the corruption for long and will ultimately give in, it might just be possible that you are able to resist long enough...”

Long enough? Long enough for what?

“Do not give into the lust. Do not succumb to the pleasure. Keep your beautiful soul anchored to the earthly plane long enough, and i might just be able to save it. Or perhaps rather what will be left of it.”