\u201cI demand to see Lord Ashur\u201d, a dark, arrogant and seemingly violent soul demanded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what you are talking about\u201d, an angel appointed to greet and process the deceased responded. \u201cI know of no such person. Are you even aware of who you are, where you are and what is happening to you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course I am aware, unworthy scum\u201d, the demonic creature answered. \u201cI am Ashurnasirpal the Mutilator, second of the name, and you better bring me before Ashur, before I have you skinned alive, you wretch\u201d, he threatened darkly.<\/p>\n
Azrael the Judge thought what to do about this one. This was by far the worst example he ever saw; most corrupted, most powerful, made of something that looked like soul crystal, only black. Not black like the blessed shivaratri<\/i>, the stuff wielded by Lord Shiva, which was black in the way mind of God that is to give birth to Light is black. This was black the way concentrated evil and hatred would be black, were they to take crystalline form. It was as if an angelic being was corrupted into something nastier than his past experience told him was possible, and he was very old. This was above his pay grade, so he turned his mind inwards and prayed to Lord Shiva to come to his aid.<\/p>\n
Shiva instantly appeared from the shimmer in space. \u201cHello Azrael, nice to meet you\u201d, he smiled. \u201cI see you\u2019re having some issue here\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, Boss\u201d, Azrael smiled and bowed to the Lord. \u201cHere is something I have never seen before, and I decided I better call you\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you Lord Ashur?\u201d, the dark demon inqured.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo\u201d, Shiva answered. \u201cAnd let me see what we have here. This is a terrible criminal, Azrael. He seems to have skinned people alive, impaled them and murdered them in all kinds of terrible ways intended to increase and prolong their suffering. He ruled with fear and intimidation, gouged people\u2019s eyes out, had their noses and fingers cut off, burned them alive and so on. His crimes are numerous, and he even made inscriptions to brag about them, in order to intimidate others. And do you know who this terribly deformed creature is?\u201d, Shiva turned to the angel.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t you dare talk about me as if I\u2019m not there, you worthless scum!\u201d, the demon growled, moving towards them as if to attack them.<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough of this\u201d, said Shiva, raising his hand and freezing the demon in place.<\/p>\n
\u201cI honestly don\u2019t know, my Lord. He looks made of material I have never seen before; it\u2019s as dense as vajra<\/i>, but black, evil and corrupted in incredible ways I have never witnessed before. Honestly, if anyone told me such a thing could exist, I would have refused to believe it, because it contradicts everything I know about spiritual substances\u201d, the angel shrugged helplessly. \u201cHow can this creature even exist?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m afraid it can exist, and I\u2019m afraid we\u2019ve seen the first of the most terrible things that have come from Sanat Kumar\u2019s evil experiment. You see, this is your former colleague, angel Uriel\u201d, Shiva shrugged with profound sadness. \u201cThe others need to see this as well, because I am afraid my beloved sister Lakshmi proves to be of immaculate foresight\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cMay all the Gods and everything that is holy be forever at my aid and have mercy upon me, because this is the worst thing I have witnessed in my long life\u201d, Azrael whined in utter shock, staring numbly at the Lord.<\/p>\n
\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cFucking hell\u201d, stuttered Lord Vishnu. His Lady stared at the frozen figure, as if reading from its memory, and wept wordlessly. Shakti grew pale and started shivering, while Zee and Kay just looked at each other in terror. \u201cFucking hell indeed\u201d, confirmed Lord Shiva. \u201cIf there were an encyclopedia of some kind here, if you looked up under \u2018fucking hell\u2019, a picture of this creature would be there, staring at you menacingly\u201d, he managed to make a sour attempt at a smile. \u201cWhat do we do with it?\u201d, he asked, looking at his family.<\/p>\n
\u201cDestroy it outright, without remainder, and someone would have to purify the kalapas<\/i> because the substance is incredibly toxic\u201d, said Lady Shakti, her voice shaking slightly. Lakshmi nodded in assent. \u201cI approve wholeheartedly. This is the most evil thing I have ever seen: an utterly corrupted angel turned into a super-demon; more evil, warped and demonic than even Sanat Kumar, and all of the astral demons taken together; in fact, compared to this abomination, the astral demons look like naughty children throwing rocks at birds. This is worse than Satan, and it can\u2019t be allowed to exist in any shape or form\u201d, she shivered, as everybody nodded in assent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what I thought, but I wanted you to see it first and tell me what you think, and I\u2019m glad we agree\u201d, he opened his palm and the frozen super-demon broke apart into dust, turning into a terrible black smoke that looked like it was made of a million microscopic black holes, and was absorbed into Shiva\u2019s body. Shiva looked unwell, as if crunched under a terrible burden or pain. \u201cI must leave you now and take some time off to deal with this, because this is not health food by any means\u201d, he smiled weakly, as if it hurt him to think or talk, and shimmered out of their presence.<\/p>\n
\u201cGreat Lord, conqueror and destroyer of all that is evil and impure, I salute you and bow before you, again and again\u201d, whispered Lord Vishnu, and all the Gods and Goddesses bowed in silence.<\/p>\n
Angel Azrael stood there, still petrified in shock, with his mouth agape, knowing only that he just witnessed the death of an Eternal, and, even worse, that it was a good thing.<\/p>\n
\u201cFuck\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cI demand to see Lord Ashur\u201d, a dark, arrogant and seemingly violent soul demanded. \u201cI don\u2019t know what you are talking about\u201d, an angel appointed to greet and process the deceased responded. \u201cI know of no such person. Are you … Continue reading