Devil In Disguise

INTRO

One second I’m literally burning in hell like I've been for who knows how long and the next second I feel an immense relief all over my body that feels like ice water.

My mind can't comprehend it.

Fire is the only thing I've known for a long time. It burns, it hurts and it's a constant torture that smells like roast beef, but after a while you get used to the pain and you learn how to focus on those moments where you weren't burning and in pain, in an attempt to escape reality.

However, it still hurts and you're still burning.

That's why I'm so surprised when I'm suddenly in a place where I can breathe fresh air. And I think: maybe this is the moment where I totally lose my mind.

I've been in hell for millions and millions of years (or at least that's how it feels) and this is the first time I don't feel fire around me.

Whatever it is, I gasp for as much fresh air as possible and squirm on the floor, trying to relieve the immense pain all over my skin and hoping that this isn’t just another clever idea of Yzhabat to torture me. If it is, it might be the cruelest one of all.

“Agatha, sister," says a voice close to me, but I haven’t been in contact with anyone for a long time, so I cannot register their voice. I can't even believe there is anyone in my vicinity. One of my brothers, apparently.

“I'm burning,” I cry. My voice sounds hoarse and scratchy after so long using it only to scream.

After rolling around for a couple of seconds I'm sure I'm not on fire anymore, but my skin, created precisely to endure fire for all eternity, is raw and burning all over so no matter what I touch, everything in me hurts.

“I know. I'd help you if I could,” he mutters, sitting beside me as I squirm and cry. He gives me a few minutes to calm down and when I finally stop crying and screaming, he speaks again, “I’m Belzat, do you remember me?”

“No, brother, I don't remember you," I answer, clenching my fingers and forcing myself to stop moving. I realize now that staying totally still makes it hurt less and, fortunately, my skin is slowly recovering and I feel a little more aware of what is happening around me, “We're in the land of mortals...Why?”

“I made a deal with Yzhabat. The demon who condemned you,” He informs me. That's a name I do remember. Yzhabat. A horrible name for a horrible, disfigured, bastard of a demon.

“What deal?” I ask, opening my eyes for the first time in who knows how long. They hurt, but they heal after a while and I can see again. I move carefully until I'm sitting and then I turn to my brother, Belzat. “Wait, are you a human?”

“No, but I am mortal," He quietly informs me. His skin is white, like that of the weaker humans, but his eyes are still big and dark, “I heard your story from another brother, Kel. He said that you have been in hell for eight thousand moons... twenty human years, more or less.”

“Eight thousand moons,” I repeat, raising one of my red arms that’s slowly beginning to heal, “It felt like three million moons. My punishment was to be there forever, though... Yzhabat discovered that I wasn't fulfilling my task, I was just living a normal life.”

“Why?”

“I don't know. I liked my task at first, but then... it was easy to forget who I really was and what my purpose was, so I just stopped.”

“I thought so. You should have looked harder for others like you... maybe you would have found me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I decided to get away from my task and live a normal life, too. I searched and searched until I found my brother Kel, he told me how to become mortal.”

“Shït... Can I do that, too?”

“It's possible, but the process can be dangerous,” He explains. His voice is deep and quite calm. We're in what seems like a long, rough forest. “I want you to try, that's why I made a deal with Yzhabat and brought you back.”

“That's why you brought me back? You want to help me?” I ask, starting to get suspicious. A devil never does anything just to do it. “What‘s in it for you?”

“It's a long story, Agatha. By helping you, I help myself," he explains, sighing. "I want to redeem my soul, maybe even go to heaven when I die. They told me that maybe it's possible.”

“A devil in paradise, yeah right," I let out a mocking laugh full of pain and raise a hand to gently touch my bald head. Oh no, my hair. It was so beautiful. I close my eyes and try to channel my human cover, but I can't. I'm too hurt, “Brother, please tell me what to do, I'll do anything.”

“Te deal is a soul for a soul... you must find someone with demonic descent and send them to hell. The exchange frees you from condemnation and offers you a chance for a trial with an angel, who will decide whether you are fit to become a mortal or whether you should return to hell.”

“I'll do it. I'll find a soul.”