Eldritch Guidance

Somewhere on the eastern continent, in a cave, a man holding a book was standing at the edge of a circle with ancient runes carved around it.

The man was named Wen, a disgraced soldier from the Dragon Empire. Accused by his superiors for a crime, he was cast out from the army and sentenced to death. He managed to escape and fled the capital city, hiding himself in the wilds.

For over a year now he had lived in this cave, plotting his eventual revenge. When he found this place, a bunch of supplies were abandoned in it. The kind of supplies stored here suggested to Wen that this was once a safe house for a cult.

He wasn't sure which cult it belonged to, but he could recognize the various types of objects and contraband stored there. Wen’s time as a soldier taught him about the kinds of goods cults like to smuggle and what he needed to watch out for, it was all the same goods that were currently stored in this cave.

Wen already felt lucky to find an abandoned safehouse to hide in, but he felt extra fortunate for what he found in it. It was something he didn’t think he would find in a million years. He had found a book of Demon Summoning.

All knowledge of such rituals was thought lost, but in his hands contained the knowledge of how to summon a powerful demon, and how to bind it to himself. All he needed to do was make a deal with the entity mentioned in the book, and he would gain power. The power he planned to use against those who wronged him.

Wen began chanting an incantation.

Wen: “Noga bah, vorta. Xizixyla, hear my call!” he yelled out.

He had completed the ritual, yet nothing happened.

Wen: “Damn it! What am I doing wrong!?” he yelled out in frustration.

This wasn't the first time he performed this ritual. Wen had performed the ritual four times now and nothing happened. He did exactly everything the book said to do, so he didn’t understand why it wasn't working.

Wen: “I don’t care if I have to do this a thousand times. I’ll keep doing it until I summon you!” he yelled, while throwing the book of demon summoning in frustration.

As if responding to the book being thrown on the ground, the ritual circle started to glow an emerald light. Wen’s eyes lit up in excitement at seeing this.

Suddenly, out of thin air in the center of the ritual circle, a floating emerald ball of fire the size of a watermelon appeared. It had an otherworld glow to it and pulsed as an inhuman voice spoke through it.

Demon: “Pathetic mortal! Why do you call me!” the entity said, as the flames flickered.

Wen was surprised, confused, and excited. The ritual finally worked, but something was off about it. He had performed a demon summoning ritual, yet what he saw looked more like a demon communion ritual the book mentions, a ritual only meant to talk to the demon. Wen wanted to bring the demon's physical form into this reality, so that he could sign a blood pact.

Wen: “Lord Xizixyla!” he shouted out the demon's name. “I called you to make a contract. But, this foolish summoner is still inexperienced and knows not how to summon you into this world proper. Please impart to me the knowledge to summon you, so that we may make a blood pact.”

Xizixyla: “You FOOL!” it yelled, as the ball of fire started burning more intensely. “You have performed the summoning ritual perfectly. I merely do not wish to descend upon your land.”

Wen: “You don’t wish to descend? What does that mean?”

Xizixyla: “It means I will not allow myself to be summoned, you IDIOT!”

Wen: “Huh? But why?”

Xizixyla: “There is something in your eastern continent that prevents me from walking upon your land. Until that ‘thing’ is resolved, I will not manifest myself in your eastern lands.”

Wen: “What is preventing you from manifesting? Tell me lord Xizixyla, maybe I can resolve it.”

Xizixyla: “HA! Truly a fool, but fine. Find the man named after what is black and has crimson eyes who walks with a skull. Remove him, and I will sign whatever blood pact you want, assuming you don’t die.”

“Does the demon want me to kill a person, but who is it he’s describing?” Wen thought to himself.

Wen: “Um, of course. I will find this person and kill him for you,” he said, sounding unsure.

Xizixyla: “Good. Until that ‘man’ is removed, don’t attempt to summon me again, or you’ll regret it.”

Wen: “U-understood.” he said, unnerved by the demon's threat.

After that was said, everything went quiet. A minute went by and the emerald ball of fire continued to just float in the center of the summoning circle.

Wen: ”...”

Xizixyla: “...”

Wen: “Um, are you going to go now?”

Xizixyla: “SILENCE! Why can’t I break the connection? It’s like—!” the ball of fire suddenly started pulsing even more erratically. “OH NO!!!!! IT'S FOUND MEEEE!!! BUT HOW?! I DIDN'T SPEAK ITS NAME!!!” the inhuman creature screamed in horror.

Suddenly the cave chamber got unnaturally dark. Black inky tendrils squirmed out from the darkness beyond where Wen and the demon could see. The tendrils slowly reached up to the emerald ball of fire and wrapped around it.

Wen watched as the tendrils ripped the emerald flame apart. These eldritch appendages were literally ripping fire like paper, something Wen would have thought impossible if he wasn’t watching it do such. An impossible high-pitched squeal was heard as it happened. Bit by bit, the tendrils pulled away pieces of Xizixyla essence until nothing remained. Once the demon's wisp was gone, the tendril quickly retreated back into the darkness.

Wen was now alone in the cave.

Wen: “What…the…fuck was that?”

???: “That was me.”

Wen immediately turned to see who said that.

Right behind Wen, like he was always there, was an elderly man dressed in an elegant black suit, the clothing of the western continent. He had long gray hair tied into a ponytail with piercing red eyes. In his hand was a cane with a metallic-looking skull for the pommel.

Wen: “W-who are y-you?” he said, startled.

Onyx: “This one is known as Onyx.”

Wen: “Onyx?”

Wen immediately clued in who this was. The man named after what is black and has crimson eyes walks with a skull, the skull likely being this man's cane. This was the person Xizixyla told him about.

Wen: “W-what happened to Xi—?” he stopped mid-sentence, having a hard time saying the demon's name.

For some reason that Wen didn’t understand, he was having a hard time recalling the name of the demon he was just attempting to summon. Like there was a gap in his memory when it came to that creature's name.

Onyx: “Oh, don’t worry about that thing. It won’t be talking to you or anything else ever again. But, that’s not what’s important. Don’t you want something? Like that revenge, you keep dreaming about?”

Wen: “Wha?” he said, confused at what he was being told.

Onyx: “I must know. Is it revenge against the woman you assaulted, or her child you nearly murdered in a fit of rage, or maybe your former general who found out what you did and tried to execute you for your crimes?”

Wen swallowed and answered Onyx’s question without thinking.

Wen: “All of them. I want that bitch to suffer along with her bastard son and general Lao. I want the power to make them suffer.”

Onyx: “OK.”

Wen suddenly felt a strange sensation well up in his gut. He felt revitalized and stronger than ever. The aether in his body also felt more vibrant and alive. However, that feeling kept getting stronger. The strength he felt gave way to pain.

Wen: “AGGGHH, IT HURTS!!” he yelled, grabbing his stomach.

Wen fell backward, landing on his back. He rolled around trying to position himself in a way to make the pain in his stomach hurt less, but he found no relief. His stomach started to bulge out and grow in size, causing him to look like he was 40 weeks pregnant.

The rest of his body started to balloon out as well, with skin and fat sagging off the side of his body. His face also started to bloat outward, making him unrecognizable and looking less human.

Wen: “Stooop!” he begged, in a voice that was several octaves lower than it just was a minute ago.

Onyx didn’t say or do anything in response to Wen pleas. The old man just continued to watch with an unchanging expression.

His stomach continued to expand bigger and bigger, until it nearly consumed his entire body. Wen’s arms and legs were pulled into the growing mass in his stomach, then his head was pulled into it as well, reducing him to a giant ball of pulsating flesh and skin. The ball of flesh, that was once Wen, continued to expand until it suddenly, and violently, exploded.

Pieces of flesh and blood, shot outward in all directions, covering every bit of the area around the summoning circle with gore. The remains of Wen that shot outwards towards Onyx seemed to make contact with an unseeable force, and in defiance of physics, bent around him and continued past.

Almost everything in the chamber was now covered in bits of Wen, except for where Onyx was standing.

Onyx: “Ugh. Gave him less than a drop of power and he exploded. If he couldn't handle the power, why ask for it? Why not ask for revenge itself, rather than the power to enact revenge. Sigh, I guess you can’t give out salvation without proper guidance. I’ll have to ask for some advice from John the next time I meet him, so I can get better at this.