by T5
In the days before his abduction, Naecken -- or Lord Kwaiziel as he was known in this realm -- would never have considered harming a fellow lord. It was against the rules. No lord should or even needed to kill another, since Hell was vast and there was always room for a new aspect to manifest itself.
But Naecken had his pride to consider. There he was, reconnoitring his lands, and swooosh, he ended up being locked up inside a stupid mortal and a weird mix of beings.
And on top of that, the demon who had been his apprentice had taken his throne. This wouldn't do. An example needed to be made.
And so, with grim determination he stormed the castle of Lord Khung with his own miserable soul army. They wouldn't stand a chance against the guardian demons, of course, but that wasn't the point. He needed a diversion to sneak into his house and gather a few belongings, items that would make him connect with the land and give him total control of the hellfire within him.
Lord Khung swore loudly. Who dared attack him here, in his own castle and in the middle of festivities, to boot? He snarled orders to the guardian demons to find the ones responsible, and do away with the trash that had the audacity to think they could invade his home.
To their credit, the army of souls managed to dismember quite a few of the guardian demons before they were annihilated by their sharp claws and teeth. Javelins were pushed into the souls' ectoplasmic bodies, and they screamed as the hellish energies fried them to ash.
Pain wasn't a stranger in Hell.
In the meantime, Naecken sneaked in through a window on the highest tower and managed to slip into a observatory that he had installed for his more intellectual experiments. Inside this room, he had a hidden door that lead to a thin corridor with a creaky staircase.
At the end of the journey down, he opened the sliding door into the throne room and walked right up to the throne, behind Lord Khung.
He whispered his code word, "Tear of fire." And with a whoosh, his hand held a trident that vibrated with hellish energies.
One of the guardian demons saw him and roared a challenge. Lord Khung turned just in time to see Naecken, bearing a thin grin, shove the trident into his belly.
Naecken activated the trident, and it turned Lord Khung into a demon-torch, and the flame continued forward. The guardian demon never knew what hit him.
The remaining demons saw Naecken shake the ashes of the deceased demon off his fiery weapon and decided to give it a rest. They knew power when they saw it.
Naecken roared, "I have returned! Anyone not happy with this may step forward and say so to my face! Otherwise, get out and let me organize this mess that you all call home. The Fallen One will be proud of what I have in mind... and you will all be part of it!"
Some uncertain cheering could be heard, but mostly souls and demons hurried out of the hall.
"And why is that, dear old friend?" a soft, almost-female voice asked behind him.
Naecken turned in surprise and saw his lord, the Fallen One, stand before him with crossed arms and wearing a frown on his face.
Naecken bowed and said with a grin, "My dear Lord, you are a sight for sore eyes. I have been meaning to contact you."
"Oh, you have, have you? And how come you had the time to cause all this havoc and not see me first, hmm?"
"I felt the need to retake what is rightfully mine, and I had little time to do what was needed."
"Uh-huh." The Fallen One regarded Naecken with suspicion. "And what could be more important than seeing me?"
Naecken knew that a faulty answer given here, and he would be the recipient of pain that few could even imagine. "I have the key to the mortal's world, and the door is partly open. It's time for you to reclaim it and rule it as you see fit, my Lord."
"You have the key?" The Fallen One couldn't imagine a day that he would actually be free from this place, yet the evidence was there. Kwaiziel had been transported away and had returned. He smiled and asked, "And how does this key manifest itself?"
Naecken smiled and said, "It's a being, similar to the Haven wanderers. He is now trapped within a realm that actually borders with this one. And it will be simple to crack the dimensional membrane and pluck him out of there and into our waiting arms. He will be nothing but co-operative, I assure you."
"Hmm... And does this being have a name?"
"Yes, Lord... his name is K'tl."