Devils Rise - Chapter 4 The Sigh
“My Eyes. My Eyes. Whys there so much light? I I can see so much I can’t handle all this information.” screamed James in terror. He could see everything, remembering the pain from the fel that flowed through them during the ceremony. Not even the walls could stop his vision as the mansion lay bare before him.
From the outside the mansion looked cozy, enchanting, and clean. Stacked boulders and sandstone pillars made up most of the building’s outer structure. It’s hard to see through the closed windows, but the thrilled sounds from forging can be felt outside.
As one entered the mansion through the heavy wooden door, you’re welcomed by a pleasant hint of sulfur and fel essence. The head servant was always buried in work and requests from the clan, but he still managed to welcome anyone who entered with a friendly nod.
It’s as charming inside as it is on the outside. Marble pillars support the upper floor with fans attached to them. The entry foyer is covered with photographs of the blacksmiths personal accomplishments. Some of only weapons and others with happy people.
The mansion was well managed, it seemed the Devil Ancestor and his servants were the primary residents here. Several long tables occupied the dining hall in case he had to entertain guests. James was placed in his own guest room. The burly Devil Ancestor was hard at work hammering away in his forging room as he noticed James began to awake. He hurried to be by his descendants side.
“Young James It seems in your thirst for the power of the fel You destroyed your eyes.” calmed the burly devil with sadness as he entered the room.
“No I couldn’t have They are alive I can see everything!” yelled James as he looked at his Devil Ancestor and saw a horrifying Devil Soul. The horrific looking Devil Soul was pulsing with elemental energies. Power and strength beyond James’ understanding flowed through this Devil Soul!
“It’s too much!” screamed James as he fainted in true terror upon seeing his Devil Ancestors powerful Devil Soul. A while later James reawakened to the same horrific Devil Soul in front of him. He could see all types of different elemental qis pulsating around a horrific malformed monster.
This Devil Soul was the true Devil Incarnation of his Devil Ancestor. Something that only those who fought him would normally see. But it was laid bare in front of James’ Soul Eyes.
“Your normal vision has been lost forever to the fel energies of the Abyss. Circulate your Devil qi through your eyes and gain control of your new world!” said the burly devil with great care in his eyes. The kind of care that would rarely be seen from a devil. The type of care that devils only would show to their closet kin.
“This cannot be, I was in balance with the fel energies. How could they strip me of my vision leaving me in this unbalanced state. So much information keeps following through my eyes. Closing my eyelids does not even change the constant unending flow of information.” Replied the young teenager with sadness trying to come to grips with his situation.
In front of him was his legendary Devil Ancestor, he grew up hearing bedtime stories of his heroics to bring the Hudson House to where it was today. Everything the Hudson devils had including their Noble Devil Clan status and land holdings was thanks to the continuous efforts of his Devil Ancestor, Kogthoz Hudson.
Kogthoz Hudson carried the Hudson devil clan on his back shielding it from the wind and the rain. Although he currently did not deal in every day clan operations, he was never the less the backbone of the Hudson devil clan. Being told such grim news from such an old experienced devil James had no choice but to believe the words.
“Fel is chaotic, but chaos leads to opportunity. It will take time for you to gain control of this new gift. I will be busy crafting Devil Wraps for you to put around your eyes. They will ease your burden stripping you of your new vision leaving you completely blind. Slowly but surely you must learn to use these Soul Eyes of yours.
“You must travel step by step from blindness to having true sight. Only through that method could you master such a gift. Relax it will take some time for you to recover and try to return to a normal life. Perhaps during your recovery you can learn a bit about blacksmithing from these old hands.” said the burly devil with a smile.
“Yes Devil Ancestor” replied the young devil as he passed out again from sensory overload.
Currently he could see everything, even thou his eye lids were clearly closed. It was a strange and unnerving feeling.
As James continued to be tormented every time he woke up his Devil Ancestor continued his forging eventually placing the Devil Wraps around his great grandsons head.
“It’s going to be difficult for you. To grasp that vision properly will take you much time and effort. These wraps are meant to deprive you of your soul vision lowering the information delivered to you to the lowest amount possible. Slowly circulate your Devil qi through the wraps and you should begin to see.” The burly devil coaxed.
He had brought hope to this young devil who had been living in eternal torture the past few weeks. Unable to process the endless stream of information he would see every time he opened his eyes. With the Devil Wraps around his head he was officially blind.
James had broken through to the Esquire realm at the ceremony. He began pouring a bit of his newly acquired Devil qi into his Devil Wraps to begin to see. His vision slowly returned, a grainy black and white world was lain before him. This strange new world was different than the overloaded chaotic world he saw before.
A foreign world with grey, black, and white shapes. He could barely make out the objects in front of him. His new vision was not clear at all, he could only focus so much Devil qi into his devil wraps to see. His amount of Devil qi was limited by his devilry base.
However this was many times better than having information overload every time he woke up and repeatedly passing out.
“I can finally see a bit without suffering. Thank you Devil Ancestor!” said James as tears came from his eyes. These were tears of joy, the torture he faced the past weeks was almost unbearable.
“Theres hope for you yet! In the fel awakening ceremony you actually awoke an inborn ability within your eyes. Inborn abilities come at a cost though, they require much time and effort to master. For you your normal sight is forever gone, burned away by the fel of the Abyss.”
“You will learn more of your inborn ability through your own self discovery and there’s nothing I can do to help you with this besides giving you the wraps to dampen your sight making your new world bearable.”
“Inborn abilities are rare in the Xertzul Abyss, usually people who have them grow mad as the powers given are beyond their grasp. They are unique to the user.” harped the burly devil.
“Even at my devilry level I have seen few inborn abilities, I have only read about them in books. People who awaken them are as rare as phoenix feathers and dragon scales. They can become a blessing or a curse depending on your own efforts.”
“Any devil who has an inborn ability should keep it well hidden. It can become your most powerful trump card. Your new Devil Wraps give you the reins for you to tame this ability.”
“I will announce officially you lost most of your vision from qi-deviation during the fel awakening. You are struggling to gain a semblance of new life as you have hardly any vision left. Since you will have to learn to navigate being mostly blind anyway it will not be hard for you to stick to this narrative until you are strong enough to protect yourself.”
“Rumor has it that the founder of the Xertzul Abyss had an inborn ability, however this might just be propaganda from the royal clan. Whether or not he has an inborn ability does not matter. That Devil Ancestor founded this Abyss realm which we live in today over a million years ago, leaving his mark forever in the Endless Abyss.” said the Devil Ancestor attempting to give James new found hope and courage in his trying time.
