[No matter how much you try to run from your troubles, they always seem to catch up with you.]
In an unknown place, a man was lying on an altar.His limbs splayed out as if he were a sacrificial lamb waiting for the slaughter.However, before anything would happen, he opened his eyes.As he opened his eyes, he felt warmth on his face.There was a confused look on his face, but with his hands still supporting him, he raised his torso and sat up.He looked down at himself and noticed that he was wearing a strange white robe."Wait!" he said out loud, surprised. "I am alive?" He remembered throwing himself off a building, so there was no way he could survive.He wondered, tilting his head to look at the sun-like light above his head. "Is this heaven?"But as he scanned the room, a sense of foreboding crept over him.The walls were covered in strange symbols that glowed with an eerie light, casting shadows that seemed to dance on their own accord.The air was thick with a heady scent that reminded him of incense and sulfur.The symbols on the walls seemed to writhe and twist, like serpents slithering across the stone.The air grew colder, and he shivered as he realized that he was not alone.Something was watching him lurking in the shadows.There was no way something like this would be heaven.He gasped and wondered, "Then... am I in hell?" His voice trembled at the thought of being in hell.As Zen stood up, a voice behind him broke the silence. "Welcome to your new world, Zen."Turning around, Zen saw a figure dressed in black.His piercing red eyes and horns protruding from his forehead marked him as something otherworldly.The horns were twisted and gnarled, with sharp points that glinted in the dim light.The large wings on his back were black as coal, with feathers that seemed to absorb all light.They were massive, spanning at least ten feet from tip to tip, and they twitched slightly as the figure approached.There was something strange and mysterious about the figure that made Zen's skin crawl.He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he sensed that this was not something to be trifled with.The figure moved with an otherworldly grace, and Zen could see that every muscle in his body was taut with power.As the figure approached him, Zen was filled with a sense of dread. He wondered what he was getting himself into, and if he had made a terrible mistake.Zen' eyes widened as he recognized the figure before him as the devil.The devil's skin was pale, and his eyes glowed like hot coals.He was taller than Zen had imagined, standing at least 2 feet tall."Hello, I am Morgath." The devil before Zen greeted himself briefly.'Is this the devil who will take me to hell?' He wondered inwardly, his heart pounding in his chest."Let's begin your journey!" Morgath said, sending a chill down Zen' spine.Zen focused on Morgath's words and narrowed his eyes, trying to make sense of what was happening."Wait! What journey? I am not dead?" Zen asked, bewildered.Morgath chuckled, a sound that echoed through the chamber. "Not quite. You're a long way from home, my friend. You've been given a second chance."Zen's mind raced as he tried to process what was happening.The room shimmered and twisted around him, and he realized that he had been thrust into a world that was far beyond his comprehension.Now he was standing in a white room. It was neat and clean.Lucifer approached Zen. His movements were smooth and graceful."You have been reincarnated into this world, Zen," Lucifer said, with a mischievous smile spreading across his face. "You have been given a chance to start anew. You can create your own destiny here."Zen was skeptical. "Why me? Why did you choose me?"Lucifer grinned. "I didn't choose you, Zen. Fate did."He pointed his index finger at Zen, the tip of his sharp nail touching Zen's chest. "You have the potential to be something remarkable, something powerful. But it's up to you to make that happen."Zen was still skeptical, but he couldn't deny the excitement building inside him.He had always felt powerless in his previous life, but now, with Lucifer's words ringing in his ears, he felt a newfound sense of purpose.However, he couldn't shake the feeling of unease that came with dealing with the devil. "What do I need to do?" he asked warily.Lucifer's smile remained enigmatic as he spoke. "First, you need to learn this world's ways. You need to learn its secrets and mysteries." His words were vague and left Zen with more questions than answers."But don't worry," Lucifer continued, his tone reassuring. "I know just the person to help you with that."Zen furrowed his brow in confusion. "Who? Who can help me?"However, before he could ask further questions, Lucifer did something.With a resounding snap of his fingers, Lucifer conjured a swirling portal out of thin air.The portal's violet hue cast a ghastly glow around the room, and a chill ran down Zen's spine.His eyes were drawn to the otherworldly energies working in front of him.Then, as if on cue, a figure stepped out of the portal.She was a woman of striking beauty, with long, flowing hair and a mischievous glint in her emerald green eyes."This is Ariel," Lucifer's voice echoed in the chamber as he introduced the woman.Ariel's eyes seemed to twinkle mischievously as she stepped out of the portal. Her beauty was striking.Zen was transfixed by her beauty and aura of power. He could feel a sense of admiration and awe washing over him as he took in the sight of Ariel.Lucifer continued, "Ariel is one of the most knowledgeable beings in this world. She knows its secrets and ways. With her help, you will know what you need to understand."Zen felt his heart race as he looked at Ariel. He couldn't believe he was standing in front ofsuch a stunning creature.Ariel's beauty was captivating. Her emerald green eyes sparkled like jewels, and her long, darkred hair was tied in two ponytails that cascaded down her back.She had a petite yet curvaceous figure that was accentuated by her vibrant green blouse andblack pants.Her skin was flawless and had a radiant glow to it.Zen couldn't help but notice the intricate tattoos that snaked up her arms, which seemed to bepulsating with an otherworldly energy.As she smiled at him, Zen felt like he was in a dream.Ariel's warm and inviting welcome made him feel special, and his heart raced.In his previous life, no one was willing to come near him, let alone talk to him in such a politeway. And here he was given a goddess to work with."Shall we get started?" She took a few steps towards him, and Zen felt his knees go weak."Y-yes," he stammered, trying his best not to blush as
They got into the building. Zen looked around the abandoned mess, realizing for the first time the true inspect the intrusion of the experiment had caused. There were black holes in the wall, some debris and blackened stones. It was almost as though he could imagine clearly what had happened here. As he looked at fallen walls and melted stones, flashbacks of memories that weren’t his flitted through his brain. He paused briefly at an upturned dirt in the air. A female worker had died at this spot. She was helping others to out and somehow the impact of the portal had reached her when it blew over the top. He ran forward and caught up with Ariel. She was surprisingly fast paced. He suppose he should not be surprised, seeing as she was a demon and had a magical trait. She suddenly stopped and he saw that they were in a shattered sort of room. “Here was your office,” Ariel said. “Here, you made important decisions that affected or impacted the lives of others.”“I can see that the las
On the ride to his supposed home, Zen glanced severally at Ariel. He expected that she cracked a joke to ease the tension, but the little demon was as stiff as possible. It was almost as though she was with his boss. He supposed that in many ways he was her boss; since he had the face of her former boss and he was to act as one, she’d have to accord him with the same respect she accorded the former one; which means the end of his youthful lusting towards her.Zen shook his head and thoughts away. It wasn’t like he was particularly lusting after her—okay, maybe he was, but who wouldn’t? She was the epitome of everything sinful. The car suddenly stopped and Ariel turned to him.“We are here.”Zen looked out the window at the house she had stopped at. It was a decent house in a decent neighborhood, with a tiny flower bed in front of it that was beginning to weed into the main entrance. It looked as though it had been unattended for years, but the footprint on the flowerbed signified th
Zen woke up to breakfast in bed. He stretched, yawning and then immediately closing his mouth when he realized that it reeked of bad breath. He sighed and massaged the middle of his head.“I suppose the perks of an old man includes bad breath.” He muttered to himself.A raucous laughter filled the room. He turned and saw that Emma was standing at the door, watching him. He relaxed back into the bed, watching her. His resurrection made him see life a different way. Sure, an old man point of view, but different nevertheless. Emma smiled at him and closed the door after she left. She was dressed in a black dress and a stunning red lipstick. Sighing, he looked to the food beside him.He never imagined that she would go through any length to serve him food, but she did. It was toast bread and milk, a very simple breakfast. Then he glanced to his right and saw that he’d overslept.Shit.Zen bounced of bed, and he nearly toppled on his face in the process. He steadied his foot and stood upri
Zen came down from the car and stood before his workers, who all turned to look at him the minute he stepped down. Ariel started the car and drove off; he held himself from looking back because he knew that it would betray his stance as the leader. He soon realized that he didn’t need to do much.Like the people he was so accustomed to seeing, these people knew how to recognize power. The body he was in exuded the most power he could ever dream of, a strong powerful man who secretly had arthritis. The workers gathered around and he looked at their faces, one after the other. As someone who had been in their midst before, Zen knew the right words to use do they won’t be discouraged and spoil the work he wanted to put in this.“Thank you for coming, guys,” he started.The men edged forward, surprised that he was thanking them. Very few employers thanked their workers for coming, and the ones who did usually had a behind motive of overworking and underpaying them.“I know you took your
In six months, Zen had successfully built the company back from scratch. This was not an easy feat, as Ariel continually tormented him for as long as she could, trying to rile him up into finishing earlier than usual. Six months was a good time and good deal. He was impressed, excited even. It meant he had achieved something that even the workers thought was impossible.It wasn’t.Zen had dedicated all his time and energy in trying to accomplish this feat. He saw Emma less and less everyday and even ate her food less because he was running out of time and working to get to the site. One morning, she was so upset that she blocked his way.“You’re sleeping with your assistant!” she screamed.Zen was dumfounded. He stared at her for long moments and did not even know what to do. It was 6am that day, and he had specifically asked Ariel to pick him up that day since she was so slow in getting him a driver. Ariel had happily obliged, saying that she had to watch him anyways.“I’m not sleepi
Zen followed her about as she toured the new company, examining each place critically.“When are we going to meet this friend of mine?” Zen asked.“Oh be patient,” she replied. “I’m sure he’s eager to meet you as well. For the main time, I’m impressed with what you’ve done here.”“You’ve said that a hundred times already. Are you stalling for time?”“Absolutely not! I just get impressed at every turn that I take.” Zen rolled his eyes and followed her as she checked the rooms and the offices. He really didn’t know what she was on about, but people who saw them would think they were just the boss and the assistant. Zen craved for a new assistant; Ariel was torturing him, whether she realized it or not. He wasn’t sure he could keep up with the mystery around her.They started to walk back out of the company, Ariel having done with the examination. Zen looked towards the entrance and stopped short, transfixed on the person standing there. It was Stella.Stella!At first he wanted to run
"So where are we going to now?" Zan asked Ariel rubbing his aching head."I see you are having headache?" Ariel noticed him rubbing his head."That is one of the problem of being in a body like this." Zen opened the door of the car, and sat at the back seat."We have to go see someone now!" Ariel informed him, igniting the car engine."Where exactly? Do you want to take me to go see someone who wants to serve another punishment? Perhaps, someone who also made me suffer in my past life?" Zen question her, almost pointing his head to the driver's side."Act like an old man, you fool!" Ariel warned him."You should answer my questions first, stop leaving me in this kind of suspense. Before meeting anyone, you should know that I hungry, and I need to eat now." Zen complained to her."Okay then. We will get what you want to eat on our way." She assured him.It was a long journey to the place where Zen was to meet up with someone. Zen's mind went to Stella."So she will have to go through t
When she was done narrating to the commissioner of police force, he took a deep breath that told her that it might be extra difficult for her to get her wish done. There was silence for a few seconds and then he cleared his throat."I do understand how you feel ma'am and I'm going to Increase your security team if that's what you think is best to do," he muttered and immediately, her face brightened up. The excitement that ran through her knee no bounds. "Oh my! Thank you very much, Mr commissioner. You are such a wonderful and nice person. Thank you,," she said in appreciation and ended the call before he got a chance to say a word. Satisfied, she adjusted herself on her chair and went on with her work, whistling as she got engrossed.Stella stretched her hand in the air and felt a bit exhausted. Her back ached from sitting all morning but she still felt lazy to rise to her feet. she took a walk around her office and only then did she realize that she had the job of tailing Stefan
Stefan stared at the young man who had come to his office and was extremely pissed. He didn't know what to do to him and neither did he plan on doing anything. "What news is that?" He asked, his hands clasped together. He seemed to know what he was going to talk about already but pretended like he didn't."Tom is dead and is corpse was found along the road this morning sir."Stefan pretended to be shocked, his eyes almost bulging from its socket. He adjusted himself on the swiveling chair and spoke, "What do you mean Tom is dead? Are you kidding me right now?" He asked."Not at all sir. It's all over the news of a young man whose corpses was found along the highway this morning.""Damn! This is crazy and whoever did this has to pay! I'm going to make sure they suffer a great deal!" He said in a firm voice that showed just how much he cared. The young man stayed a little while before leaving.The moment Stefan heard the sound of the door shutting and was sure he wasn't there anymore,
"What is the next thing to be done?" Ariel asked as they stood in front of the lifeless just of Tom that was sprawled out on the floor before them."We'll have to dispose his corpse and that of his men and then we can each go to our various businesses," Stella said with a note of finality as she cleaned her gun with a napkin that was on the table."I'll have them dropped off at a spot. You can leave that to me," Zen muttered and began to drag Tom's corpse out of the house..He stopped behind one of the cars, opened the boot and threw him in. He did the same for the others as well and then clapped his hands together."Would you mind if I join you? I don't have anything to do once you both leave and I'll be bored as hell," he heard from behind, startling him a bit as he wasn't expecting anyone. He turned his head and right behind him stood Ariel."I didn't get what you said now, can you come again?" He said even though he had heard all she said. She repeated her words and stood in fron
Stella and Ariel bursted into a long round of laughter that filled the room. It was funny and they couldn't control their laughter."Well, you should have known that your good for nothing boss wouldn't come for you, shouldn't you? It only shows that you are of no use to him. You are nothing but a puppet which he'll throw away once he is done, am I right?"Tom nodded his head in approval as tears cascaded down his face. He looked so piteous and had become a shadow of himself."Please do have mercy on me! I promise to leave from here and never return," he pleaded, looking so desperate and all. He swallowed hard as perspiration trickled down his face."Well well, did you also consider me when you poisoned me, or didn't you come here with the intention of killing me as well baby boy? If I had died, we wouldn't be having this conversation, would we?" Stella asked with a sarcastic grin on her face.She handed her phone to Zen and said, "Please do make a video of this. Stefan would be so ple
For almost half an hour, the fight went on with bullets flying all over the house. The sound of glass shattering filled the air as well.Tom had come in with two other persons but he was the only one still standing. Bullets had pierced through the other two and they had fallen to the ground - dead as they should be.Tom was weary and every strength in him had been sapped but he couldn't give up even if he wanted to. He was going to fight till the very end.He found it very weird that not a single bullet from all the shots he and his men fired had landed on either of Stella, Ariel and Zen. It was astonishing and he just couldn't process it. "These people are extremely good," he thought to himself as perspiration formed on his brows. The gun was starting to slip out of his hands and he knew he had to think fast.He was stuck and the only option left to him was to get out of the house. How was that even going to happen when the exit had been shut..Without any hope of victory, he fell t
“What’s the problem and why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?” stella asked when she noticed the look that was on Zen’s face. She sprung to her feet and walked to the survelliance screen where he was standing by. She peeped In and was shocked as well. Within seconds, the shock that was on her facee turned into anger. Her head turned until she was facing ariel. “Ariel,” she called in a loud voice that sent chills down Ariel’s spine. she raised her head to her, wondering what the problem could be.“Yes, you called me?” she asked, a bit confused.“Yes I did. Did you by chance inform anyone that you would be at our place?” she fired, her voice a thick baritone. It bore the anger and annoyance in her.Ariel stared in confusion, her eyes flickering incessantly. “I never informed anyone that i would be coming here. Why do you ask?” By this time, she had risen to her feet and was walking towards stella and Zen.“If you didn’t, why then is Tom and two other persons standing by the gat
The excitement that was on the faces of the three of them could never be quantified by anyone. They were radiant and the reason for their excitement wasn't far fetched.Zen stretched his hands in the air with his eyes flickering incessantly. He took a deep breath and began to speak. "Can we take a break now? My body aches from having to work and work without any rest."His lips were pouted as he spoke and Stella couldn't help but laugh. she ran her hand over his cheek with a bright smile adorning her lips."What would you like to eat?" She muttered, stylishly winking at him. Zen blushed a bit like he was some newly wedded groom.Ariel remained in a corner, smiling at the both of them. You could see the admiration in her eyes as she ogled on."What do you think about eating out? it's cool right?" Zen said out of the blue and Stella immediately agreed to it. She was too lazy to do any cooking and stressing herself over and over again.Zen rose to his feet with a swift movement and saunt
Stefan continued to ogle at the necklace that he had found and he couldn't get his eyes off it. The name had been well engraved on it and he couldn't help but praise the hand there had made it."Sarah! Goodness knows where she must be at the moment," he thought to himself, placing the necklace on the bedside table. There was only one person who could own it - the lady that had brought him the previous night.He remembered her face more vividly than he did earlier and the way she had spoken to her. She sounded so soft and tender as they conversed the previous night at the club..Her hand against his body gave him goosebumps and she had even topped it by driving him home. He could bet her kind was rare and only a few would still exist.Out of the blue, he jumped to his feet with a stern face. "I need to find her. It's a must," he muttered as he began to pace the room.There was no doubt finding her ess going to prove very hard especially as there was no way he could contract her. She di
Stefan found himself utterly drained, the weight of his responsibilities bearing down on him like a suffocating blanket. In desperate need of respite, he sought solace in the familiar embrace of the club, a haven where he could escape the pressures of his tumultuous existence.As he entered the dimly lit establishment, the pulsating beats of the music washed over him, a soothing balm for his weary soul. He ordered drink after drink, each one a temporary reprieve from the chaos that threatened to consume him.But as the night wore on and the alcohol flowed freely, Stefan found himself slipping further into a haze of intoxication. The world around him blurred into a dizzying whirlwind of lights and sounds, his senses dulled by the potent concoctions coursing through his veins.In his inebriated state, Stefan struggled to maintain control, his movements sluggish and uncoordinated. He tried in vain to find his way home, but his mind was clouded by the fog of intoxication, his thoughts mud