#20241029

Ever since our creation, Phibrizzo and I have had a closer connection than the rest of us. Our domains were so closely related it was only natural that we should. I was the Lord of War, and few things are responsible for more death than war. Air, Earth, and Water can all cause death en masse, but Fire is a weapon that can be easily harnessed for killing. Burning arrows, flung torches, bombs, fluids and compounds that burn and keep burning no matter how much water you pour upon them. Sea fire, gun powder, white phosphorus, the nuclear weapons that have been developed in this universe. There are so many ways to use fire for warfare, and where there is war, Death's Master is there.

My apologies, I'm getting carried away. It's not often that I indulge in reminiscence, but it happens occasionally. It's good to remember who I was, who I am.

—

My siblings and I often worked together, but it was rare for us to call directly upon each other. There were protocols that had to be followed, and shouting for their attention wasn't one of them. We were each so powerful that none of us were comfortable or willing to go into another's base of power. We would be at a disadvantage and that was something none of us could or would abide.

Prior to the war that lead to Ruby Eyes awakening in Lei Magnus such dealings were uncommon. Not unheard of, but there were few things that couldn't be dealt with through our Priests. It was part of their duties to act as go-betweens. During the war, however, we met to coordinate our plans, but there were still certain niceties that had to be observed.

For me to just shout for Phibrizzo's attention is an indication of how desperate I was. I could not sense my Priest or General, and had no idea where they were. I was alone, confused, injured, in a body that was made of flesh and blood. I could barely access my power.

I was taking a great risk, but this was Phibrizzo, my brother. He was our leader, the strongest of us, he would be able to tell me what had happened. He would know what to do.

—

I don't know how long I crouched there, trying to draw upon my power. It was there; I had used It to level the town. I could feel it, I just couldn't reach now. It was like trying to pull a needle through leather and the hole was too small. I was also aware of how badly battered my body was. And the environment. Both things I'd never given thought to before.

I could feel the air getting colder as the sun set. I knew I needed to get up, do something, but in my state of mind I couldn't fathom how to even begin. I wasn't going to be a human for long; there would be a way to fix this.

At least that's what I told myself.

I almost missed the slight inrush of air that heralded the arrival of one of our kind. I staggered to my feet and drew myself up. Only to find myself flat on the ground as something struck me from behind. I hit the rock with such force that I felt something break inside. I yelled, and rolled to my feet. Fortunately, Mazoku have high pain tolerances and human bodies are resilient. It's amazing how a little adrenaline can help them do some incredible things. Whirling around, I found myself face to face with Phibrizzo.

I drew up startled. I'd been expecting him to send his Priest, not for Hellmaster himself to show up. Especially after I had shouted for him like a common low-level mazoku.

He stood in the air above me. I remember calling his name, but there was no recognition in his eyes. The anger I saw in them was like nothing any human could begin to replicate. There was a flicker of something else, too. Surprise? It was gone almost immediately and there was only anger.

"What did you do that for?" I demanded. "Phibrizzo—"

I got no further before he was on me, moving with impossible speed. I found myself on my back with him kneeling over me, his hand around my throat.

As a Dark Lord I have exceptional strength, more than any human can achieve, but it's nothing compared to Hellmaster's. Especially when angered.

"Who are you to say my name?" he demanded as his hand clenched on my throat. "I am Hellmaster to you, and you will say it with respect." His eyes narrowed. "How is it you look like—" He cut himself off and tightened his grip on my throat.

I clutched at his hand, gasping for air. "Phi—Hellmaster, it's me! Dammit, let me go!"

"And I asked who you were." His other hand curled and his claws grew. "Take care with your answer."

"Gaav!!" I managed to get out. "I'm Chaos Dragon!"

His eyes went wide in surprise, then the anger returned, greater now. "How dare you!" he shouted at me, lifting me by the throat and rising into the air so my feet dangled. "Gaav is dead."

"I'm not! I am Gaav! Listen to me! Something has happened to me. I don't know what but I'm—"

"Human," he said. The disgust was apparent in his voice.

"Yes!" I was starting to see spots from the restriction upon, and the strain of being held up in mid-air by, my throat. "No! I am Chaos Dragon Gaav!" I clutched at his hands, gasping like a fish out of water. "I was fighting Aqua then...something happened to me and I woke up here!"

He stared at me. My struggles were getting weaker as my body—my damn human body—failed me.

He let go and I fell to the ground in a heap, gasping for breath. I pushed myself up, glaring up at him. "Gods Below, Hellmaster." I remembered my pride and pushed myself to my feet, standing as straight as I could manage. "I don't know what she did to me—"

"You are not Gaav," he said.

"I am!" I roared. That earned me... "negative brownie points," as they say here. I knew I'd offended him, but I didn't care at that point. "Ragradia—" I snarled her name. "I had her in my claws, she was dying, but she did something to Lord Ruby Eyes and to me. I saw Him in the ice and then—I woke up here." I was shouting in my anger, finding the strength somewhere. "And now I'm...this!" I realized I was shaking; that reserve of strength wasn't going to last long. I took a deep breath and tried to modulate my voice, but I'm certain it came out more forceful than I had intended. "I need you to help me. Help fix this."

He continued to stare at me, then very deliberately spoke: "Chaos Dragon is dead. I saw him lying dead at the foot of Lord Ruby Eyes' prison. I gathered up his broken body and placed it in a crystal myself." Without warning, he flew towards me, and before I could step back or evade him, he grabbed a handful of my hair. Leaning close to me, he spoke in a cold, deadly voice. "I don't know who or what you are, but you are not Chaos Dragon. You may look like, sound like him, but that doesn't mean you are him." He yanked on my hair, dragging me off balance, causing me to drop to my knees. He flew up and hovered over me, part of his Astral form manifesting around him.

I could hardly believe what I was hearing. I glared up at him but kept control of myself, though that control was wearing thin. "Phi—Hellmaster, it is me. Aqua did something to me, maybe the same thing Flare Dragon did to Ruby Eyes." I tried to climb to my feet, but he knocked me down with a blast of power.

"Stay down there," he ordered. "Or I'll make you stay down."

I clenched my fists, but remained where I was. Seething, I reached inside and found my power, and dragged it out, surrounding myself in flame. Sitting up, I spread my arms out and flames dripped from my hands. I roared at him, but it was a mere echo of my true voice. An echo perhaps, but it was still my voice.

The effort to sustain this display of power exhausted what little strength I had left. After only a moment the flames flickered out, and my throat burned from the strain. I slumped forward still screaming; I ruined my fingers trying to claw at the bare, melted stone.

"I AM Chaos Dragon," I said. More to convince myself, I think. It was a pathetic display compared to what I was really capable of, but I had still managed it. Mostly, though, it highlighted just how weak I had become.

My head was yanked up by my hair and I cried out in pain. "Could it really be you?"

"Yes. That's what I've been telling you." I could barely gasp out the words. He stared at me, searching my face for...something. Proof that I was who I claimed to be? I reached for him, desperate. "You've got to believe me; you've got to help me—"

Something changed. He looked down at my hands, covered in blood, and recoiled. He pushed away, putting a considerable distance between us. "Why should I help you?" His voice was full of scorn.

I'm sure I must have looked a sight: battered and broken, covered in blood, gaping at him in disbelief. I couldn't comprehend him not helping. "Why? Because I'm a Dark Lord! Because I need—"

"What you need to do is stop whining like a pathetic human," he snapped. His voice dripped with derision. He floated closer, but stayed out of reach. "The Gaav I knew would never have begged for help like you have."

"I've never been human before!"

"And now you're behaving like one." There was something in his eyes. I didn't recognize it at the time so I took it to be contempt. Disgust. "Sniveling, groveling, covered in dirt and filthy human blood. You stink of fear and pain and anger." He leaned in close. "If you're Gaav, then prove it."

I could only stare at him wondering what was happening and why. "I just—"

"That pathetic display hardly proves anything."

"Then how?" I roared at him. "How? How do I prove I am who I say I am? I'm trapped in a human body! I have nothing! I can barely access my power; I can't teleport; I don't even have my servants!"

Phibrizzo's Astral form became more substantial as I shouted at him. It billowed and twisted, his true form like a ghost image in the air behind him. I knew this was a dangerous sign, but with everything that had happened, and then to have him reject me, I paid little heed.

Rage propelled me to my feet as I continued ranting. "Do you know what it feels like being in this body? It's grotesque! I feel things I've never felt before. I bleed!" I held up my hands as evidence of that. "I would rather be dead than exist like this!"

At those words, the darkness that writhed around him shot out, surrounding me, lifting me into the air. The ground blurred under us as he carried me out past the cliffs and over the ocean.

"Then," he said, pulling me close. He grinned, even laughed a little, but there was no mirth in those eyes or laugh. "Die."