Devil spawn issue 1

We find ourselves in a dark room through the eyes of Duncan, ahead there stand seven shadowy figures peering at Duncan, one reaches out and grabs him. He then awakes in his room, his pillow drenched in sweat.

He notices the time and gets up in alarm and dressed for morning sermons at the church. Rushing down the stairs he makes it for breakfast and enjoys his food. His father soon arrives from his office in gown and ready for church. They both soon leave the house and walk to the doors, as he reaches to open them he feels a tense sensation in his body. Like it’s telling him to refrain from opening the doors. He shakes it off and enters the church, his head is all of a sudden is attacked by a mind wrenching headache like his head is being squeezed. Just as quickly as his headache appeared it faded, he is confused and returns toward his duties, he lit the candles, set the benches and went to claim his charm.

Clasping it in his hand, he feels a burning sensation in his palm which soon turned to searing pain. He drops his charm and sees a burnt branding in his palm. His father and the priest see this and take him home where they examine his behaviour. The day soon passed quickly and Duncan falls asleep but little did he know the trouble he was in. Then a voice emerges, “wake up, they’re coming” he wakes up and hears footsteps outside his door, he stubbles awake and opens his door to see his mother and father as well as the priest and two men of the cloth with him. They sit him on his bed and reassure him before chaining him to the frame.

Duncan soon begins to let out a burst of fear and confusion before being order “silence, god will pass judgment on your corrupted soul.” Duncan tries to reason with him and tell him he’s not corrupted. But it was empty words to them, his parents stood at the door with nothing to say holding each other in their arms. The priest soon pulls out a dagger encrusted in gem and gold, he begins chanting in Latin and makes to plunge the dagger deep.

It was then, Duncan’s eyes soon changed, his eyes bubbling black before a glowing green appeared. He slipped from the chains and threw the priest to the floor. The two men attempted from hold him but are powerless as Duncan struck a them down with ease. He then looks to his parents, all he saw was the look of fear and disparity in their eyes. His gaze then moved to the mirror beside them, it was there one of his eyes returned to its normal blue hew whilst the other remained the black with a green glow. His gaze soon moved to the glowing horns on his head and claws from his fingers.

Looking at his parents he sees their fear and could hear their heart beat, a voice spoke again, “oh how I envy the sound of a heart.” His hand reached for them, Distraught he gripped his arm and jumped through the window and fled into the wood. He continued running, for what seemed like and hour before tripping and falling before a lake, it was the lake he went fishing with his grandfather. He looked down to his reflection in the water and couldn’t believe his eyes. His glowing eye soon vanished and his reflection then appeared unreal as seven beings appeared behind him. He looked behind but no one was there, he began to wonder if this was a dream or a hallucination. His troubles soon faded when the seven beings emerged from the water.

He asked, “who are you!!, what are you!!” They laughed and spoke in unison, “we are you, we are seven.” He contested with them, his cries filled the silence until the noise faded again. It was then one spoke, a giant brute more than 9th tall, his smile was horrific, his skin was grimy and his eyes a bronze glow, he reached toward him. Duncan soon realised it was them, from his dream.

The brute spoke in a gritty slobbering tone, “you are ours and we are yours. We are seven, you are one. We will protect you from those who hurt you, pressure you and seek harm into you.” The brutes hand stopped infront of Duncan, the voices of his parents yelling in the background with dogs barking and people clamouring. Torch light was glimmering in the background, he was conflicted and couldn’t choose before he did. Just as his parents emerged from the wood they too saw the beings, Duncan reached forward and took the brutes hand. As Duncan stood the beings vanished gone, but the air became stale, a chill went down everyone’s spine as if facing a great threat. Duncan turns around his eyes closed, in a moment of pure stillness and serenity the ground soon rumbled, the dogs began to whimper and ran.

Duncan then took a breath and opens his eyes, they were a pitch black, everyone then felt immobile, they looked down and saw their shadows were forming around him. Creating a spiral at his feet they then rose creating a hurricane, but no wind was felt, no sound was heard. His parents took one last look toward him before once again sercuming to overwhelming fear As they’re son said, “goodbye” in the blink of an eye he was gone. Their shadows returned underneath them. Where he stood was just his charm, his father picked it up, filled with fury he threw it into the lake. Then collapses to his knees, Duncan, soon emerges in an alley from the shadows thanks to sloth, he hears noise and clamour of a hustling city. He looks at the street to see he is in Rome.

The sound of the roads was intense the people vast in number and reeking of sin. Duncan could smell the sins of the people and feel the Burning of holy ground beneath his feet as he realises he’s outside the Vatican. He ventures in and hopes to converse and confess to release himself of his demons. But the further he went the more they spoke and overwhelmed his mind. “Your ours, we’re yours. You took our hand and you took the deal.”

Duncan through struggle entered the building and soon reached the seat of the pope and begged forgiveness and sanctuary. But none was given, as the pope saw Duncan’s corruption and called the paladins to subdue him. They appeared like phantoms from the shadows of the pillars. Surrounding him with dagger, lance, charm and water, but it wasn’t enough when Duncan lost control. He blacked out but not unconscious, he saw his eyes change in the glint of the cross. His eyes a rose red and soon an apparition formed around him of a giant red beast with fiery eyes and a burning mouth of fangs and a snakes tongue forked in two. Within moments he had spilt holy blood in the Vatican and ran.

The pope yelled, “paladins of the Vatican alert all offices around the globe, all churches, all religions. Duncan Harkway, is excommunicated!!! Now seize him he is too dangerous to let loose.” Duncan’s red monster soon vanishes and returns his body, Duncan continues to flee finding himself at yet another alley. A growling bellowing voice telling, “try to control me again and you will fail boy. I won’t warn you again.” From a window to his left, Duncan begins to yell back but A second voice spoke, “we got company, unless you want to get more help since it worked so well I suggest you think of something quick.” Another reflection in a puddle below him. Soon enough he is surrounded, by the seven demons through the reflections of windows, puddles and broken glass, the clamouring tones and voices invade his mind causing him to yell from frustration. The sound soon reached the someone nearby, worried it was another Paladin, Duncan pleads with the demons to help him escape.

“who did I use back at the lake?”, they laughed and one spoke, a pitch black shadow in a cracked mirror, “you didn’t use me, I just took the wheel so you could skip the sappy family tears. I’m the one you, ‘used’ remember my name next time, just say sloth and I’m yours. ‘Master’” he said with a brooding sarcastic tone. Duncan then fell to his knees and his eyes turned black, standing before them, he appeared as a demon before them. Duncan soon vanishes amidst the darkness, travel far from the Vatican and further from his family.