Return From Damnation

NEVER PUSH YOUR LUCK

"How am I still alive, you asked? Oh, so you wanted me dead? Is that why you took the brakes off my car? Well,.. look at me now, alive and kicking! Still as good looking as ever!" Rowan joked, while Sam knelt before him, wide eyed in horror.

But then, Rowan's joke backfired when he accidentally caught sight of himself in Sam's room mirror.

"Oh no! Crap!" Rowan couldn't believe his own reflection. He didn't even recognize himself.

He looked ghostly pale, with darker eyes and lips. He resembled some kind of undead creature!

"Well, I guess I don't exactly look human anymore, but hey, I'm standing right here, speaking with you. The person you wanted so badly to get rid of. All I wanna know is why, why, why, Sam?" Rowan asked, frustration building up inside him.

Meanwhile, Sam pretended to shed crocodile tears. "Oh, Rowan, I'm really, really sorry! It's just that sometimes people get greedy and do crazy stuff without thinking, you know?"

"And hey, I never wanted you dead! It was all a big mistake, I swear. But hey, I'm super relieved to see you alive... So, can we still be friends?" Sam pleaded.

Rowan couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You know what, you're like the devil himself! You found me in that car, covered in blood and all messed up, and you took the artifact and just left me there to die. And now you wanna act like you never wanted me dead in the first place?" Rowan tried to wrap his head around Sam's absurdity.

"I'm really, really sorry! How can I make it up to you?" Sam begged.

Rowan stared at Sam for a moment, took a deep breath, and then... "Where's the artifact?"

Sam's face turned white with fear. "I... I'm sorry, I kinda auctioned it off at a fancy charity event in France."

Rowan couldn't help but scoff. "Of course, you used the charity money to buy yourself fancy things. You're a real snake, you know that? How did I not see it before?"

Sam didn't know what to say, so he remained silent..

"When was that?" Rowan asked.

"Four days ago."

"Who acquired the artifact?"

"The Jean Aubert Family," Sam replied.

'Damn, why a drug lord of all people? This is going to be troublesome. I need to retrieve that artifact before time runs out. But how am I supposed to take down a drug lord before thirty days are up?' Rowan asked himself, then turned his gaze to Sam.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you right now!" Rowan demanded. But Sam was at a loss for words. Rowan looked at him for a moment. It was tempting to end him right then and there, but when Rowan remembered the suffering souls he had seen in hell, he never wanted to add another soul to the collection.

"How much was the artifact worth?"

"Six hundred million dollars," Sam replied.

"How much do you have left?" Rowan asked.

Sam was puzzled by the question, but he answered nevertheless. "About five hundred million dollars."

"Give me your phone." Rowan commanded.

"What for?" Sam asked, even more confused and feeling insecure.

"Don't waste my time!" Rowan warned, his voice authoritative. Sam hurried to his bed and retrieved his phone, handing it over to Rowan.

As Rowan extended his hand to take the phone, he stared directly into Sam's eyes, and Sam immediately understood. He unlocked the phone before handing it over.

Rowan took the phone and worked on it for a while, then handed it back to Sam. Sam examined the phone for a moment. Suddenly, his mood changed, and his eyes turned red.

"You bastard, what have you done?"

"The right thing, sending the money back to charity, where it belongs," Rowan replied with a smile.

Sam was about to respond when his phone rang. It displayed an unfamiliar number. He answered the call, shouting at the caller, "What?!"

"Sorry to bother you, Mr. Sam. This is the Love World Charity Foundation, and we're calling to express our deepest gratitude for the generous donation you made to our foundation. We will always be grateful..."

" SHUT UP, YOU ! I didn't donate anything to your charity, so give me my money back now! "

"Sorry, sir, but it's against our policy to refund donations made to our charity foundat..."

"I don't care about your policy! I just want my money!" Before Sam could finish, the call got disconnected.

Rowan found it amusing. "That serves you right. Next, I'll burn down all your properties. But for now, I'm leaving," Rowan said, turning to walk away.

Sam stood there, still boiling with anger. He grabbed a knife from a nearby table and rushed towards Rowan, intending to stab him in the back. But as he approached, a shadow on the ground rose up, forming a blade that effortlessly pierced through Sam's neck.

Rowan turned around, his eyes widening at the scene before him.

'Whoa, I've missed this for a long time. I've sent one soul to hell. Just five hundred and twenty more to go to increase my rank,' a voice spoke inside Rowan's head.

"What? Who said that?" Rowan asked, scanning his surroundings for any sign of someone. But there was no one to be seen.

'I'm in your head. You can call me Invidiak, the Shadow God.'

'Invidiak? What a ridiculous name,' Rowan thought to himself.

'I can read your thoughts, you know,' Invidiak said.

'What the hell? Why are you in my head? Get out of this body! I rebuik you! Leave!' Rowan commanded.

'I'm sorry, but that's not going to happen. I need your body to enter the human world. You must be possessed by a demon to be resurrected by an unholy being,' Invidiak explained.

'What did you do just now? I saw my shadow move,' Rowan asked, bewildered.

Suddenly, a screen appeared in front of Rowan's eyes, displaying a list of a thousand different shadow abilities and their functions.

'Unlike other demons, my shadow ability grants me access to various shadow powers.'

Rowan noticed an ability called Shadow Slicer, activated it, and controlled his shadow to form a sharp blade, similar to the one used to kill Sam.

' This is insane,' Rowan said, unable to believe what he was witnessing.

' Look, if you agree to help me send souls to the underworld, I can keep you alive and increase my demon rank,' Invidiak suggested.

'Wait a minute, you don't expect me to just go out and kill anyone, do you?' Rowan asked, already skeptical of the deal.

'Alright, let's focus on eliminating bad guys then, shall we?'Invidiak proposed.

Rowan looked at Sam, thinking about how he tried to betray him even when shown mercy. Eventually, he decided to accept the deal.

"Deal!"