NeutralNexus — Roleplayer Guild

“We all know what has been happening to our town, the last few days have been harsh...on all of us.  I know our neighborhood was not hit by the riots, but many of us have family who was either involved, and people that were lost.  I can see it among you, a mixture of fear and despair, the feeling that all is lost, and this city will continue to decay under this superpowered criminal element.”

These were the words spoken by Father Gregory Holmes, the leader of Lost Haven’s Roman Catholic Church of St. Peter, just off of Little Sicily, situated just off of a suburban neighborhood on the outskirts of the city.  His words were exemplified by the state of his congregation.  Due to the riots, many of them bore signs of exhaustion; clothes that weren’t quite clean, bags under their eyes from sleepless nights, panicked clutching of their children and loved ones as they listened to Father Holme’s sermon.  This was indeed a section of town that saw at the very least some form of the Cowl’s dirty deeds, though none of them could even pinpoint the crime lord as the cause of anything, no one even suspected such.

“However, the bible teaches us that no matter how bad things get, no matter how rough times are, there is always hope.”  Father Gregory stated, making eye contact with the people of his flock, offering them a warm smile of comfort.  “Through faith and perseverance, any child of the Lord will be able to overcome any trial thrown at them, protected by His love.”

A few of his crowd seemed to ease at his words, offering smiles in return. 

“In Isaiah 9:10, it is stated ‘The bricks have fallen, but we will build with dressed stones; the sycamores have been cut down, but we will put cedars in their place.’”  Father Gregory rose his hand to the crowd, sweeping his arm across the pews.  “In 1 Peter 2:5, it is said ‘You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.’  In the Psalm 9:1-16 it is stated ‘He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day.’”

With each quote, the congregation seemed to be in slightly higher spirits, a few sitting more upright in their chairs as they listened to the kindly old man’s words.

“Now there is no doubt that due to the riots a few nights ago we have lost much.  We have lost businesses, we have lost homes, and we have lost people.”  He stated, his tone bolstered with each word spoken. “But there are two things we have not lost; faith, and spirit.  The human spirit is resilient, hardened by day-to-day struggles, toned by love and compassion for both each other, and the Lord.  Yes, we have lost, but we are not beaten.  The community  is not broken, nor are we lost.  Through our faith in Jesus Christ and the Lord, we will gather together as a community and remain strong, we will send a message to the ilk of this city, no matter what is thrown at us, we will stand triumphant.”

The crowd murmured amongst one another, their spirits simultaneously ignited by the Father’s kindly, hope-filled sermon.

“However, in order for that to work, we cannot selfishly squander what we have, but share it amongst one another.”  Father Gregory declared, “In order for us to survive, we must survive as a community,not as single entities.  Therefore, this church will offer its rooms to any who do not have a home in this time of tribulation, and we will be starting a food drive this week to give to those less fortunate than us.  I ask you not just as your Pastor, but as your neighbor...please, we must cooperate if we are to get through this time.”

The crowd murmured once more among the pews, a few people began to speak up.

“I’ll provide room for people in need as well!”

“My restaurant still has a working stove, we can prepare what people bring in.”

“We can knit a few blankets for people!”

Everyone began to rise from their pews and offer what they could for the effort, causing Father Gregory’s smile to widen ever so slightly.  

Until the sound of laughter began to echo through the pews.  It was soft at first, almost as if someone in the back had begun to chuckle, but it grew in volume.  Louder and louder, until the point it began shaking the entire church.  The congregation began to scan the walls, looking for the source of the laughter, but found no body to assign it too.  As the laughter continued, the shadows of the room began to swirl and shift, unnaturally stretching and turning to the people’s terror, changing the tone of the room from hopeful to fearful in mere moments.

“A wondrous speech.” The voice declared, still deciding not to reveal itself. “Certainly something to be admired about you humans, especially ones with such a faith to defend them.  The futility of life is much easier if you know that there is something at the end, no?”

The shadows continued to swirl and twist around the room, the formless black gravitating to the very center, morphing into one big circle of darkness in between the pews.

It was there, out of the darkness, that Umbraxis rose.  The shadowy humanoid figure slinking out of the darkness to the horror of the onlookers.

“However, I have...consumed...enough of your species to know that for all your ‘Lord’ talks about rebirth and revitalization, He shares in the interest of destruction.  For every crucifixion and affirmation of faith, He wipes out an entire globe or a city because  they do not follow his arbitrary rules.  He makes His people commit to their religion by attempted murder, He forbids the eating of animals in the water for no adequate reason,  He sends plagues among an entire populace to punish one man’s foolish decisions.  If you were to ask me, He celebrates destruction just as much as He celebrates saving the faithful.  For all His teachings of Love and Peace, he seems like a massive hypocrite.”

“You’re....you’re one of them!”  Came the voice of a man in one of the pews, now standing and jutting a finger at the shadowy figure. “You’re some kind of metahuman, aren’t you?  Things got nuts because of you guys, this is all your fault!”

“Well, I can’t deny some of the panic, I suppose, though I was not involved in this rioting you people were talking about.  I unfortunately got here too late to participate in that lovely party.”  Umbraxis replied, the little white eyes squinting at the man. “Though people have every right to fear me, and for the record, they should fear me.  But there is one fallacy in your accusation.”

With a gesture, the man was engulfed by a shadow, a brief scream was all he could deliver before he was dragged into the void below him, never to be seen again.

“I was never human.”

All at once, the crowd screamed and ran for the doors, only for shadows to pop up from the ground and envelop them, their shrieks muffled by the darkness, dragging them to a horrific and untimely end.  Wherever Umbraxis gestured, tendrils would snare and consume, some even pulling people apart before dragging them into the darkness.  

Amongst the chaos, Father Gregory’s face contorted into sheer terror, only able to watch in horror as his congregation was torn to shreds by the vast darkness, smoky hands of darkness pulling people he knew and loved into oblivion, screaming all the way down.  He tried to reach for people within his grasp, only to watch as with a glare, Umbraxis sent tendrils of darkness to their location, dragging them away to be torn limb from limb.  Without any option to save his flock, and no escape, the only thing left for Father Gregory was to hide, to find some sanctuary away from this foul entity's gaze.  Amidst the chaos, he spotted his confessional, now stained with red from the carnage displayed before him, but relatively untouched.  He had no choice, he had to hide, and the being was not focused on him, now was his chance.  He sprinted as fast as his old legs could carry him, pushing him onward to rip the door open and duck inside before a torrent of darkness enveloped him.

He pulled his knees up to his chest, his breaths shaking and quivering as outside his tiny shelter continued the screaming.  It lasted for hours, though in reality it was only a few precious minutes.  The crashing and shattering of pews became mixed in with the shrieks, each terrifying second decreased in volume, only hinting at how few were left.  Eventually, the screaming had stopped, all at once the commotion came to a halt, only leaving a thick tense silence in its wake.  Had the creature killed them all?  Was his entire neighborhood gone?  He dared not to look out of his confessional, not to see it, not to see the damage, huddling in his confessional, trying desperately to stifle his heaving chest.

The answer came to him with the sudden sound of the confessional next to him squeaking open, then shutting.  He could hear no footsteps, but he somehow knew it was moving.  He did not look at the grating, but the sound of the seat next to his creaking meant it had sat down.

It was still here, and judging by the feeling in the back of his next, it was sitting in the other confessional.

“So...how does this go?”  The creature asked, giving the Father a horrid jolt. “‘Forgive me father, for I have sinned.’”

“You...you demon!”  The Father spat out in a whisper. “How dare you...how dare your ilk desecrate these hallowed grounds.”

“Oh, goodness, you are as far off as the other fellow.”  Umbraxis responded, the seat creaking as it shifted its weight. “I’m no demon, though I have been meaning to visit that dimension for quite some time now.  There have been a few too many of their kind traveling dimensions...nasty little things, you humans picked the perfect name for them.”

“Then...what are you?”  Father Gregory asked. “Are you...the Light-Bringer himself?”

“Again, no, but that can be the only logical conclusion you could come up with, I suppose.”  Umbraxis said. “Truth be told, there is no definition your kind could come up with for me, as I bear resemblance to none of it.  I’ve never come across anything like myself either in my eternal travels.  Then again, I’ve never come across anything like your ‘God’ either, although I can’t deny something like that exists.  The universe is vast, and among the travels, there is always something new out there worth investigating.  I couldn’t deny that an omnipotent all-powerful being exists, as that would deny my own existence as well.  As for what I am, the only thing I can tell you, as I’ve told many other humans, is that I am an end.  Everything in this universe ends, Father, as only the Universe itself is eternal.  I am the void everything goes back to when their purpose has been completed.”

“But...why us?”  Father Gregory asked. “Are we God’s chosen? Does he not protect his people?”

Umbraxis laughed at the notion. “Now that’s the part I don’t believe.  A small grouping of a small race of fools, endlessly squabbling among one another for easily shared resources, fearing one another for religious beliefs, pigment tones, and ideology.  Your kind refuses to work together, and loses all potential it could have, why would this ‘God’ chose your race as its prefered race?  To say that your kind are Ants does not even cover it.  You are the bacteria on an ant, the molecules that make it up.  In the grand scheme of things, this planet is barely recognized as alive, a rock with a bit of moss on it, endlessly swirling around a ball of Hydrogen and Helium until it is consumed, either by fire, its own shortcomings, or me.  Given the options, I’m probably the most humane end for this planet.” 

“Then...you have no regrets about your actions...no remorse for your misdeeds?”

“No, not at all.”  Umbraxis said. “On the contrary, I feel fulfilled.  Yes, my purpose is destruction, but if that is my purpose should I not feel grateful for finding it?  Should I not embrace it as a lion would embrace being a predator?  Or a Bird being able to fly?”

“I...that’s…”

“And maybe it was your ‘God’ who made me for this, I could not tell you that either.”  Umbraxis added, leaning closer to the grating. “Maybe it was something else, I could not tell you.  What I can tell you is that I have existed since the beginning, and my purpose has always been to deliver an End.  Since my existence began, I have been snuffing out life, returning that has been created into nothing.  Perhaps the Universe has finite resources, and I am just the way to keep it all in check, perhaps I am a universal equalizer to potential threats of Universal balance.  Again, these are questions I never bothered to answer, but I know what I was made for, and since the beginning I have snuffed out more lives than you could ever dream, delivering an End to countless civilizations across countless galaxies.  And if I enjoy such a purpose, shouldn't that make said purpose easier?”

The Father was speechless, unsure if the being he was sitting next to was insane, or actually telling the truth.

“Hm.  These confessional booths deliver a lot more then people say they do, I feel like I was able to get a lot off my chest.  I wonder why more civilizations haven’t had something similar.”  A sigh came from the grating. “I'm guessing by the silence, you cannot forgive or understand my actions, as I suspected your kind was incapable of doing...Oh well, now that we have that out of the way...”

In an instant, The Father’s confession was flooded with a smoky form, a brief yelp of terror before his body was enveloped by darkness, never to be seen again.

Silence once more filled the church, Umbraxis rising from his seat and strutting out of the confessional, the formless humanoid scanning over the carnage it had left behind.  There was no blood, no human parts left behind, only shattered pews and bits of clothing that had been torn, the darkness had stripped the place clean of organic material, after all, the organic was always the most appetizing.

“Hrm...I’m beginning to think I’m going to like this ‘Earth’,” The entity murmured to itself, sinking back into the shadows. “What more will this planet have to offer, I wonder?  I must find out for myself.”
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