Kapitel 4: Emptiness is divine.
~ Kathmandu, Nepal ~
~ Kamar-Taj ~
- August 12, 1968, 9h07 -
Alastair glance at the familiar statues adorning the walls, one looking like a cross between an horrifying snake and a squid and the other like a stone shaped in the form of a human face with four horns on its head and many eyes on its face, it lacks a mouth, ears and a nose.
Knocking on the large wooden door, it swiftly opens and he take it as his cue to enter. Walking inside, the smell of incense mixed with tea leaves assault him, looking around he see the Ancient One in a meditative posture with a focus look on her face.
Alastair take a seat at the small table and wait patiently for her to be finished, he wait for a long minute and try to restrain the sigh of relief about not having to wait any longer. Patience isn't one of his virtue.
Opening her eyes, the Ancient One alias the Sorceress Supreme levitate from her corner of the room to the small table where Alastair is waiting.
" So you came. " she simply says with the usual sagely tone she use. Her piercing blue eyes make him feel uncomfortable, like she can see him, all of him, in the most spiritual way.
" Were you expecting me ? " he asks while looking at the kettle and the two tea cup suspiciously.
" Did you find what you were looking for in the library ? If I recall I said that you were relieved from this peticular mission.. " she answer with a mysterious smile at first that quickly change into a sternly expression on her whole face.
" Huh.. Yes, I.. I think I found something that could be related to our case, I was reading a book about all sort of entities when I read about one that make me tilt. " Alastair start a little bit unsure of himself but he become increasingly enthusiastic.
" It isn't named in the book but only referred as the Beyond One, there wasn't a lot about its origins, in fact very little informations were written about him. What make me suspect it is the description of its energy, ancient, malicious and a deep distinctive purple. " he explain while looking at the Ancient One for more details.
" I'll tell you more about it but be warn that it is a dangerous path to thread upon.. " she start to fall back on her teaching role but Alastair stop her.
" I attend the lessons Master, I know the risks but I made my choice when I started to learn the mystic arts. I also pledge a vow to protect the earth from extra-dimensional entities, and I intend to hold it despite the dangers I'll face. " he interrupt her and reassure her of his convictions, his determination make an honest smile appear on the woman who lived for centuries.
" Very well, the first thing to know is that the Beyond One is just one of its title, its true name have been forgotten in time and today very few are the people to know it. " she begins her explanation but mark a pause to take a sip of her tea.
" Are you one of them ? " he takes the opportunity the ask his question as an ever curious scholar.
She look at him for a second that seem to stretch for an eternity, almost like judging his worth. " Yes, I do know it's name, and no I won't tell you. " she respond with a mischievous smile.
" It came from the void between dimensions before time and space even existed, it's an entity of pure energy, formless and without physical form. It means that to wander the earth the earth he must inhabit a vessel, otherwise his presence would destroy this solar system. " she continues to develop her explanation and Alastair listen to her words with rapt attention.
" It's going to seek an host if it hasn't already found one, after that we can only guess what it's intentions could be, sow chaos and death, seek power, control of earth and its enslavement or even souls. The possibilities are numerous but the certitude is that we must stop him. " she finish in a grim tone, the years of fighting show on her face for an instant but she tightly reign back her emotions.
Alastair look at the Ancient One in front of him, the harsh reality of the situation exposed to him make him understand more deeply the threats it represent.
" So.. What do we do ? How do we stop him if we can't even find him ?! " he asks nervously and with trepidation in his voice.
" You don't have to worry about this disciple Medas. I am personally going to handle this with the strongest masters, you would only endanger your life by meddling into this fight. Keep up your investigations but don't engage, under any circumstances " the Sorceress Supreme says to him with authority and a serious face, she make it clear she indulge his curiosity but it shouldn't go further than this.
~ Los Angeles, California ~
~ Palms ~
- 18h23 -
Tom Klindel open the door of his two floor white house. Closing the door behind him, he takes off his coat and put it on the coat rack, walking inside the living room he throws his bag on the comfortable sofa.
After taking off his blue tie and unbuttoning a little his beige shirt too small for his large build, Thomas or Tom for his loved ones look around the living room but see no one. He see the lights turn on in the kitchen, a content and happy smile invades his tanned face.
" Delilah ? Damien ? Where are you ? " he asks playfully in a loud voice while walking toward the kitchen, his tired brown eyes dancing with mirth.
Opening the door to the kitchen expecting to find his wife and young son, Tom is instead subject to a vision of horror, something he wish he could forget as soon as he saw it.
His wife is tied up to chair with a gag over her mouth. However the nightmare don't stop here, arranged on the floor where the small round table is supposed to be, the limbs still bloody of his innocent boy are twisted and separated from the rest of his body to form a sort of pentagram that only evokes Satanism for him.
" Da.. Damien ! " Tom says with a shaky voice, his face contort in anguish and shock at the sight of his son's head posing in the middle of the pentagram still attached to the upper body, his dead eyes wide open and looking in the direction of his mother.
The muffled screams of Delilah shake him up and free his body from the instinctual paralyzes he's inflicted with. Rushing to her aid, Tom untie the knots binding her to the chair and the gag that reveal dry blood at the corners of her lips. The red vision, remind him of the still fresh blood of his son, his looks down and sees that his knees are bathing in a small pond of reddish liquid.
" Hahahahaha ! Hahaha ! Ha-ha ! Hahahaha ! " Delilah bursts out laughing, a deranged and psychotic laugh that make a shudder pass trough Tom.
It's the only warning he got before his wife throw herself at him and slams him on the floor tiles. He fell nails scratch his face, but the worst is the feeling of her teeth puncturing his neck and ripping a piece of it.
While bleeding profusely from his jugular, Tom see something even more surreal, his wife, the tender woman with whom he shared 23 years of happy changes before his exhausted eyes.
Her mouth stretch unnaturally and from it come out three tentacles with a cutting point at each of its end. He doesn't have the enough strength left in him to resist or defend himself when the dark and menacing appendages reach his head and pierce deeply his skull. Fortunately for him, the injury on his neck cause his death and allow him to escape a more dire fate.
Delilah clearly not in her normal state tears off the top of his skull with the help of the strong but repulsive tentacles coming out her mouth. She pushes them into the brain now free of access and it seem to be suck by the suction cups present on the whole tentacles which are almost one meter long.
" How are you ? Having fun ? " a cold and strong voice makes her stop the feast she's taking part in with the recently dead body of Tom, her late husband.
" Father, is it you ? " Delilah stand up from the corpse, look at the origin of the voice and ask with a strange vocie, her soft and magnificent hazel eyes have lost all their light leaving only an electric yellow that overflows into the whites of her eyes. " You set me free ! However I would I've preferred the youngest one. " she continues with her high pitched voice, her pale blond hair stained with dry blood and facial expression twisted in a smile so large it look painful.
" Father ? I'm certainly not your progenitor filthy, putrid shit pile. " the cold voice of Howard echoes in the kitchen while he's leaning against the doorframe dress in a perfectly tailored navy blue three-pieces suit. " Now stop with your degenerate antics and pay attention, I didn't summon you for nothing Hastur, so be a good little demon and listen carefully. " he continues in a milder tone, however his eyes with their cooling and sedate purple stay on the slender form of the possessed Delilah and ground the powerful entity possessing her in its place to keep it from escaping.
Under the opportunistic gaze of Hastur, Howard walk slowly and nonchalantly, he points his index finger up and a extremely small wisp of purple start to emerge just above his well filed nail. The wisp grow until it reach the size of a baseball ball then it condense into a smaller form, the end result is a perfectly circular ball small enough to be swallow, it glow and the quantity of power in it make small electrical arc at it surface, it have the same purple color it's creator's energy have.
" Open wide. " Howard says with a mocking smile and he launch the small orb directly inside the forcefully opened mouth of Delilah or more accurately Hastur now. The purple orb bypass the tentacles, it enter easily and its trajectory toward the stomach can be seen from the extorior, the luminous glow still visible despite being inside a body.
~ Kamar-Taj ~
- August 13, 02h56 -
Alastair is woken up by someone knocking insistently on his bedroom door.
Groaning inside his pillow, he rub his face then get up from the hard mattress and stretch a little before putting on his favorite yellow outfit, a synonyms of pride and accomplishment for anyone knowledgeable on the color code of the order. Red for novice, blue for intermediate practitioner and yellow for master.
" Oh ! You're coming or do I have to break down the door Alastair ! " the person behind the door exclaim impatiently, it make Alastair roll his eyes but he hurry to get ready.
Opening the door, he come face to face with one of his closest friend in the temple. A man in his thirties with long black hair tied in a ponytail and a pale skin that easily burn under the sun.
" What do you want Dave ? It's the middle of the night can't it wait ? " Alastair with a rough voice, glancing behind him, he see that his room is a mess, a whole bunch of books and small trinkets litter on the floor. Blushing slightly from shame, he get out of the room and close the door before listening to his friend who look at him with a playful and taunting smile.
The two friend start to walk toward the dining room.
" So are you going to tell me what you're doing here ? " Alastair says while crossing the long hallway.
" Huh.. How can I say this without hurting your sensibility... " Dave begin his answer while slowing down his pace. " I've been tasked to babysit you while your making your investigation because no one really believe you are at the level of a master. " he continues with a brutal honesty and an apologetic face.
" It's a joke right ? I am perfectly capable enough to take care of the threat, I don't need a chaperone. " Alastair respond while exiting the hallway with an angry demeanor.
" Hey, easy there, you wanna go tell this to Ancient One be my guest. " Dave placate him and follow behind him.
" She's the one who asked you ? " Alastair asks and he receive a nod of the head as an answer. " Fine, you can come. But you could have told me this in the morning so why did you wake me up ? " he says while giving a cheated look at his friend clad in a similar monk robe to him.
Dave offer him a concern glance before he responds. " There have been... Developments. " he says with a laid back tone but he look full of worries.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein