[IC] Demon Within

[KatherinWinter]

Griffin was that of a normal college girl until the morning he woke up to discover that he wasn't the only person in his head. he sought help immediately. He was afraid that she had schizophrenia or something. He ignored the voice in his head until he realized that the things he was telling him were real. He tested the voice on her doctor. The doctor accused him of spying on him because he knew things that no one else knew. That is when he figured out that the voice in his head was telling his everyone's secrets. No secret was safe from him. When Griffin questioned the voice and he explained the secret behind his existence, how he had came to be inside her mind, and that he was not the only person out there who had received a being like him. Griffin immediately began seeking those people who's life had changed the same day as his had. He sent them an email inviting them to met his in a castle that had been in his family for centuries. The email he sent out read:You don't know me but I know you. In the last month your world has changed. One day you were alone in your head. The next you weren't. You saw doctors and did research but couldn't find the answers about what was happening to you. Soon you notice that the voice in your head isn't the only thing that has changed. You can now do something that no human can do. I am here to tell you that you are not alone. There are others like you. Others that have a voice that whispers to them and can do things that no one else can do. I have some answers. I am inviting all of those who has had these experiences to come to my castle where I will explain what I know about what has caused these changes.

[Bishop]

A tea cup in hand, Nathan felt the vibration of his phone. It only meant one thing, an important email had arrived. How did he know it was important? He put vibrating alerts only on his secret account, usually used for illicit dealings and such. Checking the e-mail he felt a wave of relief wash over him, his hands giving up and dropping the tea. That same tea that was aimed at poisoning his kinda* old father in order to end him prematurely and get the inheritance sooner. "And we were so close.."- struggling to ignore the voice in his head Nathan packed his most needed belongings and made way for the castle whose location was attached at the bottom of the email. Only saying a:"Leaving on a trip" to his mother who didn't inquire any further as this was a common activity for Nathan, he left for the castle.

Finally arriving before the front gates, it was truly magnificent, even his family's castle-manor seemed modest before it.

[Hyper10]

Jericho woke in a cold sweat feeling the air thicken. It was a sour feel when death walked in you head. It was hard to sleep when you knew a monster was hungry for a kill. "I see you made your web of death again" he spoke of the cold dark air that was thrown around him to kill anything that crossed into it. He see it happen twice once our their first meeting and again after a visit to a bar to ignore him. He got up out of bed as he walked to get dressed to fulfill that deal. He need to kill someone or death shall rain it's darkness of the people around here. Death wasn't much of talking but used it's energy to communicate. Or just manifests into his shadow and stands there only for him to see or anyone he decided to kill. It was like a nightmare to have him follow you everywhere. Jericho just got dressed and looked at the mirror at how this burden has made him look more tired. He walked out the bathroom and placed his black mask on to cover his mouth. It was once white for his time as a doctor. It was black to remind him of who he was. He walked out his home to look for his next victim to ease this cold sickness inside him.

[Emuxe]

---

Olivia hadn't left her empty apartment in weeks; the moment that she was joined in her head with a terrifying voice that told her to do the most unspeakable things, she simply... Disappeared off the map. She quit her job, left university, and moved out of her apartment without even a word to anyone she knew. Her only window to the outside world was her encrypted laptop. Her only income came through online surveys that paid in both money and vouchers, which came in handy. Her groceries were delivered to her, and she made sure to never speak to her neighbours or delivery people - the last time she did... didn't end well.

Olivia rubbed the cast on her forearm, lazily scrolling through forums with her fingertips of her broken hand. Whatever joined her in her head obviously had access to take over her body, too. After refusing to comply with the voice's demands, whatever controlled her forced her to break her own arm using a door as a vice and a hammer to shatter the bone.

Olivia tended to browse, and occasionally post, on the "deep web," which was what she was doing when a white window popped up on her screen, nearly blinding her. She read through the message, suspicious of the sender; surely it was just someone messing with her, right? You post your story of possession in the deep web, and of course people were going to mess with you.

---

"This is a terrible idea," Olivia muttered, running the fingers of her non-broken hand through her light blue hair. The young woman slowly made her way up the long and winding forest path toward the large castle that rested atop the mountain. She didn't even know why she came: She wanted to avoid people, not be surrounded by more. But then again, any information regarding her situation was wholly welcomed.

The young woman stopped in her tracks upon noticing a young, pristine-looking man standing at the gates. Olivia breathed in deep before again trudging toward the gates, stopping just beside the man. She purposely didn't look at him, instead deciding to just stare at the monumental structure before them.

"So..." she said, finally breaking the silence, "this should prove interesting, if anything..."

---

Addressing: @Bishop

[Bishop]

Oh no ho, who do we have here? Another soon to be denizen of hell? What the fuck was wrong with him? It hadn't even been that long since he joined the trade and he was already thinking of the owner of the mysterious voice as a possible contract victim. "That's why I like you, you adapt fast and you will give me many souls to come. Hisss hsss hsss KHAKHAKHAKHA!"-the sharp and low as a whisper demonic voice resonated inside his head.

Balling his fist in anger as he cursed God for his fate, in a split second he instantly calmed down, formed a charming smile and answered back to the source of the voice. "And who might the owner of such a heavenly voice be?"- he said in a smooth tone. He then turned to the new arrivée. "And a beauty to compliment the voice."- he added upon seeing her. It didn't matter if she was beautiful or ugly, the words would be the same as the outter appearance is usually lost while being tortured in the depths of hell...and here he goes again, this thinking will turn him into an actual demon! "Don't worry about that my little human, the more souls you give me the higher the chances for you to go to heavensss kkhh khh kkhh". Ignoring the unwanted interruption, he returned to the girl and extended his hand while making sure to match her working one. "Nathan Simfel, delighted to make your acquaintance"- he greeted while looking into her eyes. If she would be oh so grateful as to extend her hand, he would make a gesture as if kissing the hand while bending over in a courtly manner. As soon as he would touch her hand, he would get a shiver down his spine."And here is another fellow tainted one like you. If you manage to give me her soul, I will count it as 10 normal ones. You should know very well yourself, the joy of taking what's someone else's. KHA KHA KHA KHA"
Tainted one like him? Could only mean one thing, she had her own demon.

Straightening up he continues:"This already has, proven interesting."

[Hyper10]

Jericho was wondering down a path his voice set for him to follow. It was a dark one at that...oh, please. It was just the a little hand pointing the was, a shadow at that. He walked in a gloomy cloud of his death. It been months since he had a normal conversation with someone or at best even find a place to rest. He walked from home after killing a few people and things on his path. It was a dying path he left behind him. He just walked soon noticing the castle a few meters away from him. He noticed the cold hands of death point him in the direction. He walked with the cold air around him and the look of something dead about him. It wasn't before he walked up to the gate and noticed two other people there. The death of them might grow near as he approached, but his demon just spoke "they, be our friends" it said with a tone that match it's power. He stopped at stared at the he just stayed quite to study them.

[KatherinWinter]

@Bishop@Emuxe
'Wrath and Greed are here.' The demon in his head announced. Griffin nodded. He headed towards the door. He was glad to have company. He was tired of being alone. Now that he knew that he wasn't the only one with a demon he was hoping the others would be willing to stay here. Together they could find a way to live with the demons without destroying themselves or the world. He took his tablet out as he reached the door. He typed a message before he opened the door. He nodded to all the people gathered there. Then he pressed the play button on his text-to-speech app. "Welcome to my castle. My name is Griffin. I have much to tell you. Please come inside. I have set up a table with refreshments in the great room. Follow me and I will share what I know." He turned and headed back into the castle leading the way to the great room.

[Bishop]

Alas, the gears of fate started moving. Knowledge, treasures, friends,enemies, whatever awaited him now, only time would tell. "Let me skip that time for you and say that only pain and death will stand along the path you're about to take."- well thats one more monologue gone dialogue, this demon was persistent in annoying him.
"And my name is Nathan Simfel, though I believe you knew that already. That, among many things..."-how exactly did HE know all this information about their predicament? Did his demon, for once, have an answer when he needed one?
"I will tell you that much, about how he knew, the Secret Power!"-the demon responded with a hellish whisper. What secret power? So what was that secret power? "Yes, it is The Secret Power! Kukukuku"
He told him that already but WHAT THE FUCK WAS THE SECRET POWER!?!?
"KHA KHA KHA KHA Foolish human, you continue to amuse me!"

For the rest of the walk he tried to stay blank, think of nothing. Extremely hard if you were wonder, with the constant bickering and spine chilling voice.
Looking once at Olivia(assuming you told your name) then back ahead, deciding against further conversation.

They entered the castle and were led to the great room, it was as majestic from the inside as from the outside.

[SoulEater]

Amber sat alone in her small apartment looking out a window. Her eye's were dull, and she had thick black bags under her eyes from nights without sleep. Her demon had done this sense they made the contract. Her eyes then drifted to her laptop that sat across the room on her small bed. She moved her feet to the ground and cursed when she stepped on her friends pin, almost braking it. Her hands moved slowly to get the pin from the floor, but sweeping it up with ease. A name was sketched into it, and the name shined up at her as if it were smiling. Amber shifted her nails between every letter and let out a sigh through her nose. Her laptop now on her mind, she puts the pin in her jacket pocket and walks to her laptop. She sits down on her bed and pulls the laptop closer to her, and opens it looking through her messages. She usually doesn't get messages, but she still checked just in case. Apparently a message was there, and for some strange reason her demon inside her had an amusement look, then spoke in a voice that was so deep you could drown."My dear Amber, you may be in for a real treat." It snickered as Amber read the message. Amber almost feelt joy after reading the email, but then remembered quickly what the demon would do so she just began packing. She left her appearance and begin to make her way to the destination her demon said to go.

As Amber climbed the last flight of stairs, she was now standing in front of a huge door that was the entrance to the castle. The castle was Gray, and she liked it because there weren't any bright flashy colors. She pushed open the door and walked inside. The castle was also plain inside but it was very beautiful. Amber had a herd time paying attention, and her demon had to threaten to kill her if she didn't listen. So she followed her demonas directs of were to go. They ended up finding three people walking into a room. "Amber follows them." Her demon roared and Amber snarled back "shut up, I got it!" She grinded her teeth as the demon scratched her cheek, leaving a red trailing of blood behind. "Talk like that to me again, then I'll break your bones." It smiled as Amber said nothing and walked were they were going, with as little to no sound at all.

[@Bioshop] @Emuxe @KatherinWinter

[KatherinWinter]

@Emuxe@SoulEater@Bishop
Griffin lead the group through the castle. The great room wasn't far from the door so if there were late arrivals he would hear them arrive. He indicated to the table. He had loaded it with food and drink. He wasn't much of a people person so giving up talking wasn't that hard for him. Thank to technology he could communicate when he needed to. Unfortunately now he needed to. "I am not sure where to start. I suppose the easiest way to start is at the beginning. A couple of months ago I woke up with a voice in my head. At first I thought I was bipolar or schizophrenic. I went to a psychologist hoping for help. This only made things worse. I am sure you all have similar experiences."

"Needless to say the doctor couldn't help me. But I did learn something. I learned that the voice in my head wasn't just an ordinary voice. It knew everyone's secrets. I know this because I tested several time. Everything the voice tells me is true. So when he told me that there were others like him I knew I had to find them. We are the keepers of the Lords of the Underworld. They are second only to Lucifer. Their physical bodies were destroyed hundreds of years ago which is why they need us. Each of us was chosen because we have something in common with the demon that chose us or something they crave." Griffin typed the message on his tablet before pressing the play button. He would explain that to the group next.

[SoulEater]

@KatherinWinter@Bishop@Emuxe Amber walked ahead of the other two without acknowledging their existence and listened to the one who was supposedly the one who invited them here. She took a seat and looked at the other two as if challenging then to talk to her. As she and her demon listened she almost cried at Griffins' words. "Wait, you mean we can't get these damn demons out?! Amber roared. Her demon smirked and responded out of Amber's mouth "Don't mind her, Mr. Griffin, she'll behave. The demon tugged at her hair which made Amber gag and made her cut on her cheek bleed again. The demon whispered into her ear, "Shut up, stupid girl or I'll give up on the deal. Amber froze and sat still with her eyes burning with rage at the threat. The demon let go of her hair and spoke again out of Amber's mouth, "Now, why have you called us here exactly besides filling your castle with demos like the one inside you? Amber closed her mouth after the unnatural voice asked the question. Amber huffed and folded her hands on the table that was full of food, which was making her mouth water a bit. She hadn't remembered eating on the way here, except a hot dog that she had to beg her the demon who gave in eventually, and said it was a waste of time. her eyes trailed to a muffin that had cinnamon and whipped cream on it and her eyes lit up with hunger.

[Emuxe]

---

Olivia raised a brow at the main who spoke as if he were a corny fairytale prince; she wondered if his compliments were mere flattery or were actually sincere, but it was nice to at least be spoken to. She turned when he extended her hand toward her, silently asking for hers in return as he introduced himself as Nathan Simfel. At least he's a gentleman, she thought internally as she hesitantly placed her hand in his palm, surprised when he actually lifted it to kiss it. He really was out of a fairytale.

"I-it's nice to meet you too," she stammered, hastily retreating her hand, "my name's Olivia." She had to shake her own hand, not in a rude way as it would appear, but upon touching his hand, it felt like her palm was on fire. Olivia rubbed her fingertips over her palm, appearing as if she were trying to massage out the sudden pain in her hand.

WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO BE RID OF ME?! the booming voice of Wrath suddenly engulfed her head, feeling her entire body with pain. Olivia physically grimaced, gritting her teeth hard in an attempt to muffle her sounds of agony. She nearly didn't notice the castle's large gates open, nor the new stranger who apparently could only speak with the assistance of technology.

Olivia followed after the small group, lagging behind due to the sheer fact that it felt like she was walking across molten glass. Wrath wasn't one to go down easily, and everything had to be done his way; Olivia was honestly surprised that he didn't just take over her body and walk her home, though she supposed that he thought that torturing her was a hell of a lot more fun.

Eventually, she reached the great room, but now wasn't the time to take in the extravagant sights. Olivia didn't sit down, but simply clutched onto the back of an empty chair, looking as if she'd just run a marathon in flip flops. "Wait," Olivia panted out, "you mean we have to help them?" She nearly sounded disgusted by the fact, but at least it seemed to calm Wrath down.

Wrath released her body, all of the pain washing away like a waterfall. Olivia almost collapsed from the relief, had she not been holding herself up. "Why would we want to help them?! Look at what they're doing to us!" she demanded, beckoning with her broken hand to the other girl in the room who was seemingly being abused by her own demon. At least Olivia wasn't the only one being beaten up by someone that doesn't even have a body...

[KatherinWinter]

"It doesn't matter if we want to help them or not Olivia. We don't have alot of choicd in the matter. The demons are stronger then we are. They can force us to obey them to a certain degree. We have to feed them. We have find a way to live with them. I hope that that will be easier to do together." Griffin explained. He wanted them gere. Yes it would be difficult dealing with their demons on top of his. But atleast he wouldn't be alone.

"Now that we are the keeper of these demons will be immortal. We aren't strong enough to control our demons so we will hurt those closest to us. We will all have to live alone unless we are willing to work together. Even if we try to avoud hurtjng people are demons will force us to and it wont be long before we are hunted." They were already hunted but they didn't know that yet.
@Emuxe@SoulEater@Bishop

[Bishop]

Ahhh, the Power of Secrets... you love wordplaying don't you?
As Nathan made to greet the newcomer he noticed her lack of control. She was clearly struggling internally and it seemed like the demon had the upper hand most of the time. Well no need to greet that fowl creature. No knowledge on her desires could help him make her sign the contract. The demon wouldn't allow it. Maybe when she had a little more control...

"Going for the steal without an order? You're shaping in nicely human."
Well it said that their souls were worth 10 normal ones to the demon, all to help himself in the end. As they took their seats Nathan went ahead and sat himself close to Amber. He had to alternate in gaining these women's trust. He couldn't just waste time on one while ignoring the other.

Nathan started trying what seemed to be the most expensive food on the table all the while pouring himself a glass of wine and making an offer to fill Olivia's glass.
He noticed Amber glaring intently at a muffin but reluctant in eating it. Nathan took a muffin from the plate and took a bite. "Well made. Compliments to the chef for this exquisite assortment of dishes."- he said while addressing their host.
Turning to Amber he added:"It's very good. Have a try."
With that he hoped to relinquish the fear of poison that he thought was fueling Amber's reluctancy in eating.

[SoulEater]

@Bishop @Emuxe Amber looked at the boy across from her that was munching on a muffin. He seemed to pity her for some reason, which she did not like at all. She glared daggers at the boy and snaped, "I don't need your approval thank you very much!" She grabbed the muffin, stood out of the chair and stomped over to a window set. Amber really didn't give a danmn about hurting his feelings, and so didn't her demon. She got onto the window set and looked at the muffin in her hand. She then realized that she was very hungry so she took a small bite. Amber's eyes lit up at the sweet flavor so she took another bite. She licked her lips at the satisfying flavor, then she noticed a girl was looking at her. The girl looked like she had been in pain but was now recovering. She had blue short hair and a broken arm, and was over all very pretty. The girl looked like she was in pain which made Amber some what happy. Misery cakled in Ambers mind, "You see, pain can happen to other lovely things besides your self. Didn't you what others to feel the way you do?" Amber smiled to herself. She would like that very much. She continued to eat the muffin as she looked out the window.

[Emuxe]

Olivia awkwardly made air quotations, which was incredibly hard when you only had around 5% movement in one of your hands. "Yeah, only a 'certain degree'; I'd love to see what Wrath does with full control," she said sarcastically, her irritation dripping from her words. Of course, this didn't seem to please Wrath all too much; without a word, he took control of Olivia's right arm - the good one - and forced her to grip her own hair and slam her head against the top of the chair that she leaned against before again releasing her. "Jesus!" she wailed, rubbing the fast-forming egg on her forehead. Now that was just mean.

Olivia was relieved when Nathan silently offered to fill her glass - after the past few weeks, Olivia could really use a drink. She passed her glass over to Nathan with a quiet "thank you," before finally sitting down, exhausted. She sounded more like an exhausted middle-aged mother with a wine addiction than a single woman in her early 20s.

Olivia had to raise a brow at the younger girl, who seemed a little... touchy. It was unfortunate that someone who looked as young as her suffered the same fate as the much older possessed around her. Olivia refrained from saying anything further, though, choosing to instead just focus on other, more important things. Good, you're finally leaning to shut up, Wrath internally mocked.

[KatherinWinter]

@Emuxe@SoulEater@Bishop
Griffin was surprised by the lack reaction he got. He wasn't sure what to make of it. Maybe he had explained it better than he thought he had. No one seemed to want to know who was hunting them. Maybe they had already figured it out. Or maybe they didn't care. It didn't matter who was hunting them. Still he had expected something from them. "There are others out there. I am hoping that they will show up. Until then I would like to invite the three of you to stay here. This castle has been safeguarded. It is currently the safest place for you. There are plenty of rooms so we won't be on top of each other."

[SoulEater]

@KatherinWinter @Emuxe Amber looked at Griffin as he explained that there were more of them. She had crumbs on her face and when she spoke, some fell of her lips. "How exactly do you know that there are others like us?" Amber asked flatly. She then hired a bang and a curse from the blue haired woman as she rubbed her head. The woman sat down and then took a drink from the guy Amber had snapped at earlier. The woman looked back at Amber, and for a second there eyes were locked and Amber had a real emotion besides hatred in her eyes. Amber really didn't know why, but her demon seemed to not like the emotion at all. Misery gritted it's sharp teeth and took control of Amber, which triggered her depression. Misery began to whisper in her head of all the horrible things she had done which brought hot tears to Ambers eyes. She moved her knees to her chest and covered her face as she sobbed into her jacket."I don't want to remember, leave me alone!" Amber squeaked as she continued to cry. "Can't let you feel to convertible, can I now?." It's hellish voice rasped in her head. Misery then let go of her emotions, and stopped whispering nasty things to her and just grinned as it bathed in Amer's depression. Amber quickly wiped her face with her sleeve and pulled her hoody over her head, blocking her tear staned face. Her face was flushed red and her breathing hitched to try and control her tears. Amber pulled out her friends pin and moved it in her hand quickly, making shour to hid what was engraved on the heart. This movement usually help her forget herself, but sometimes it just lead to more tears.

[canaryrose]

Natalya arrived at the huge castle with a duffel bag handy, staring up at the structure with large eyes. Tentatively, she grabbed the knocker and slammed it into the door. It made a loud, hollow sounding noise, that rung in her ears and gave her the chills. She tested the knob on the door and opened it, finding it very hard to push with just one hand. But her other hand was useless, so she couldn't use it even if she wanted to.

Speaking of her left hand, it was currently encased in a leather gardening glove, and underneath that in gauze. No one but her had seen black, disgusting hand. No one but her knew about the spasms of pain that would occur.

Once she had opened the huge door, she found an empty hallway. She frowned. Ah, man. I must be really late. From what she knew of castle layouts, the great room should be right over here... She turned a corner, and did a fistpump. She walked over to the door, and opened it to find a group of people.

"Hi! My name is Natalya Phillips. Pleased to meet you all!" she said in a squeaky voice. She then walked over and took a seat next to the blue-haired girl.

[KatherinWinter]

@canaryrose
"Welcome Natalya. My name is Griffin. I am the keeper of Secrets. This is Olivia. She is the keeper of Wrath. She gets angry easily and you are more inclined to become angry near her. This is Nathan. He is the keeper of Greed. Be wary of him. He will go for the things you desire the most. And last but not least thus is Amber. She is the keeper of Misery. You are likely to feel sad around her. We are immortal now and hunted."He typed the introduction. He pointed to each person as he introduced them.