《Mystical Theatre》


 Unholy Birth

    Hermes


    The sisters were making a magical circle made up of words and symbols that came from the language of Thoth on a large, smooth piece of stone that protruded out of the earth. They left a large empty space in the center of the circle. The large circle was still incomplete with one sister carefully completing the circle and making sure none of the ink got on her white robe. That must be the ink that they instructed me to get for them. I don''t know much about magic, but I am pretty sure you need this specific ink for magic circles and potions. It cost me thirty-two hundred, Quincy. I knew that it was expensive, but God, thirty-two hundred, Quincy. I want to pass out just thinking about it. What''s scarier is that it wasn''t the full price of the ink.


    The other two sisters began to work on making a smaller circle in the empty space they left in the center of the larger circle. It too was made up of symbols and words that came from the language of Thoth. I must say it was amazing how precise they were, especially since they had that piece of paper that was blocking their vision. There were no mistakes, no errors to be seen. It was a real shame that such talented people were criminals who had committed grave sins. It looks like the larger circle has been completed. As I thought this, the sister who was working on the larger circle stood up and went into a tent that was off to the side of the stone platform. I looked back to the other sisters, and like the other circle, they left another empty space in the center of the smaller circle. And before I knew it, the smaller circle was completed. They worked so fast, and like the previous circle, there were no errors to be found. No sign of weariness or them growing tired. The sister in the tent came out and headed toward the other sisters. Once she made it, they pulled out a dagger from their robes and made a small cut on their left hand. I watched with curiosity as each of them used their blood to draw three small stick figures in the empty space left in the center of the smaller circle. Once they finished drawing the figures, the circle lit up, drowning the surroundings in its light.


    "Hey, what''s going on? Is everything alright?"


    "Yes, David, everything is fine. There is nothing to worry about."


    "Oh, okay. What was that bright flash of light?"


    "I think it was the magic circle being completed. Honestly, though, I have no idea."


    "I see. Hey, John."


    "Yes."


    "Do you think this is going to work?"


    "Yes, I do."


    "How are you so sure?"


    "Because I was shown a vision."


    "You never told me what this vision was."


    "I didn''t think it was necessary to tell you."


    "You disappeared for two years, and then out of nowhere, you show up and ask for my help. Now, I have a lot of respect for you and trust you, but you can at least tell me what you saw. Please."


    "You''re right; you deserve to know."


    "Thank you."


    "The lord showed me what''s to come. I saw the Buddha and the Sage standing together. I saw him killing the Sage, and then the three sisters stood over the corpse of the Sage and brought her back to life. Then she led us into battle, and after there was no more war or disease. The world was at peace, no evil. I can''t explain it, but it felt so real."


    "I see. After you had this vision, what did you do?"


    "I went to the Buddha''s castle and read the old text from the Sage''s library to gather information so that I could locate the corpse of the Sage."


    "Wait."


    "What?"


    "You went to the Buddha''s temple? How?"


    "I know the monk in charge of the castle."


    "Someday you are going to have to take me there."


    "Alright. After this, we can make a stop there."


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    "Yes!"


    "Hahaha."


    "Wait, did you see the bookkeeper?"


    "Yes, I saw her, but she mostly avoided me."


    "Oh, really, that''s a shame."


    "Yes, she could have sped the process up for me, but it is what it is."


    "You said that you located the Sage''s body. Where did you find it?"


    "Ah, yes, it was in Logan''s forest."


    "Logan''s forest? I''ve heard of the mythical city of Logan but never Logan''s Forest."


    "You will never believe this, but that city actually existed."


    "Wait, what!"


    "Yeah. I found it in the forest."


    "What happened to it?"


    "I don''t know. What I do know is that the forest is toxic."


    "Oh, I''m starting to see the picture."


    "Anyways, her corpse was easy to find when I found the location. It was in a church."


    "It wasn''t buried?"


    "Nope, just left out in the open." As I said this, I heard a loud thud sound coming from where the sisters were. I looked and saw that there was a large cauldron sitting in the center of the two circles. The pot color looked to be a very dark green, and it had elaborate artwork on its sides.


    "Ha, that sounds heavy. Do you ladies need help carrying anything?"


    None of the sisters said anything and just ignored him, going back to work. "Hahaha. David, you should be a bit nicer to them. Hahaha."


    "I will do no such thing. They are heretics and use black magic."


    "Yeah, yeah."


    "How did you meet these lovely individuals?"


    "That is a long story for another time."


    "Fine. But I will ask again later."


    "Ha. Okay."


    "What are we going to do with them after they''re done?"


    "No idea. I''m probably going to kill them."


    "Ha, need any help with that?"


    "No, I should be good." We both looked back and saw that two of the sisters were placing firewood underneath the cauldron. Then all three sisters made their way to the tent and came out with a mummified corpse. The corpse was placed facing me with two empty holes that used to be where her eyes were, staring at me.


    "Is that her?"


    "Yes." The sisters placed the corpse in the cauldron, then one of the sisters went back in the tent and came out with a large bowl that looked to be filled to the brim with a red liquid. She walked so carefully that none of it spilled. The sister poured the red liquid into the cauldron. The liquid looked very chunky and made a disgusting wet sound when it hit the bottom of the cauldron.


    "John, please don''t tell me that''s what I think it is?"


    "..."


    "John, please!"


    "It had to be done."


    "You. You''re a monster!"


    "Yes. Yes, I am. Where are you going?"


    "I need to get some air."


    Sorry David, but it must be done so that the Sage can be reborn. Once all the liquid was poured in the cauldron, she went back in the tent and out again with more of the strange liquid. This continued several more times until the pot was brimming full of the red liquid. They lit the firewood, and red liquid started to boil. It gave off a putrid smell, and all the while the corpse was still looking at me. The sisters were on opposite sides from each other, some distance away from the cauldron, looking at the Sage. Then I heard the sisters saying something. I couldn''t understand it, but I did recognize it came from the language of Thoth. "It''s begun." I listened to the chant; it felt good on my ears, and I almost went into a trance. The chant got louder, and the sisters began to dance around the pot. Seeing all of this happen, I felt fear that I had never felt before in my life. Not even when I was close to death was I this scared. This was like a primal fear; every part of my being told me that this was true evil. I reverted back into a child, and tears began to run down my cheek. I closed my eyes in a desperate bid to hide. To get rid of this feeling that I was experiencing. I was scared to open up my eyes and face my fear. But I did open my eyes, and when I did, I instantly realized that it was nighttime. This was insane because when I closed my eyes, it was almost surely midday. How was it night already? I looked to my right and saw David. How did he get here? He looked to be in a trance.


    "David. David, wake up. Please." I said while violently shaking his body in a desperate bid to break the trance, but it was to no avail. I looked at the sisters, and all three sisters pulled out a dagger from their white robes and pulled up the piece of paper that was covering their faces and cut out one of their eyes. Then they tossed it into the cauldron, and then the chant got even louder where they were yelling it. I began, unconsciously walking towards the pot, and grabbed one of the daggers from the sisters and held it to my left hand. I snapped out of it and realized what I was doing. I threw the dagger, but one of the sisters came to me.


    "You must do it."


    I looked at her; her face was covered back up with a piece of paper, and it had a symbol that looked to be an eye on it. She also smelled very good. It reminded me of my mother''s scent. For whatever reason, I felt comfortable around her. Not only comfortable but also safe, like a child was with its mother. I nodded my head and stood up, grabbed the dagger she was offering me, cut off my left hand, and threw it in the cauldron. I looked at the blood that pooled out of my arm. My thoughts were frantic. What have I done? What should I do? "AAAAAAHHHHHHHH! Oh my god!" I drove my left arm into the cold stone. I was drenched in sweat, and my vision started to get hazy.


    "John! Oh my god. What happened?"


    I tried to mutter some words out, but before I answered, the cauldron valiantly began shaking then... I woke up on the cold, hard ground and propped myself up, still clutching my wrist, trying to stop the bleeding. Where the cauldron used to be was replaced with a massive fire. "David! David, where are you?" As I stood up, I saw the sisters kneeling where the fire was. "Hey, have any of you seen David?"


    They said nothing. I looked where they were looking and saw the red liquid. It was moving, slowly taking the form of a person. The liquid turned into a girl who was standing where the pot used to be, surrounded by fire. She had black hair and pale skin and was looking around almost like she didn''t know where she was. Then she saw me, revealing her three bronze-colored eyes, looking at me. The great Sage, after five hundred and forty-five years, has been unleashed onto the world once more.

 Unholy Birth

    Michael


    Finally, it''s over. The baby is finally born, and it looks like a boy. I must say for my first time I think I did pretty well. I kept calm and stayed focused, and nothing seemed to go wrong. I guess we can thank the incantation tablet. It certainly helped prevent the baby from dying. I think I can call this a success. The baby looks healthy; the only strange thing about him is his silver-colored eyes. None of his parents have silver eyes, so why does he? Oh no, don''t tell me. No, Mrs. Lily would not do such a thing. Anyways, again, nothing looks out of the ordinary. He does look like a healthy baby boy. "Congratulations, Mrs. Lily, it''s a boy." I''m not going to lie, though; I was very nervous. I carefully gave the baby to Mrs. Lily. She looks so happy.


    "He looks so beautiful. Doesn''t he, honey?"


    "Yes, he does. One day all the ladies will flock to him. Hahaha."


    "Haha. Yes, I''m sure they will."


    "Have you guys thought of a name?"


    "Yes, Lady Anna, I was thinking of Abel. How does that sound?"


    "A wonderful name for a boy. I''m sure one day he will live up to the name of the knight."


    "I hope so. What about you, honey? What do you think of the name?"


    "I think we should have had a girl. Haha."


    "Oh, you! Can you take anything seriously?"


    "What? We already have two boys."


    "Well, I think the boys will be happy to hear they have a brother."


    "I''m sure you''re right. Hmmmm?"


    "What''s wrong, Henry?"


    "Oh no, it''s nothing."


    "Mrs. Lily, do you have everything prepared for the baby? Do you need any help?"


    "No, I think we have everything ready. It helps with going through this twice."


    "I''m sure. Well, I should get the tablet." I bent down and began feeling under the bed to find the tablet. Where is that darn thing?! Oh wait, I think I found it. Wait, something is different about it. It''s broken! But how? It wasn''t like that before. I got on both knees and scooped up all the tablet pieces, then stood back up.


    "Wait, Lady Anna, what''s that?"


    "It''s the incantation tablet."


    "Wait, you''re telling me that you used a broken incantation tablet! Did you not care if my son died?"


    "Lily, calm down. I''m sure there is a reasonable explanation for this. Right, Anna?!"


    "It wasn''t like this when I placed it. I don''t know how it got shattered."


    "... My baby could have died!"


    "I know, and I''m so sorry." How could this have happened? I know for a fact that it was fine when I placed it. Did spirits break it? If they did, why? Mrs. Lily then began crying and clutching her baby as tightly as she could, almost like someone was forcibly trying to take her baby away.


    "Hey Anna, can we talk outside for a second?"


    "Yes."


    "I will be back soon, okay?"


    "Okay."


    I placed the pieces of the tablet on a desk and then made my way out of the room with Henry following. When we both were out of the room, he closed the door to the bedroom. This can''t be good. "So, what do you want to talk to me about?"


    "..."


    "Henry?"


    "I don''t know how to explain it."


    "Explain what?"


    "Did you find it strange that the baby never cried?"


    Wait, what? Is that true? Did Abel never cry? No, that can''t be true; he most definitely did cry. I just need to remember¡­ I''m drawing a blank. "I guess you''re right. I don''t remember him crying. Even so, what''s your point?"


    "I don''t know. Just with the tablet and all."


    "I am truly sorry for allowing that to happen, and I promise you it will not happen again, but your baby looked fine."


    "Yes, but it''s also the comet and all the weird stuff that''s been going on for the past couple of weeks."


    "Oh, I guess you''re right; that is something to be concerned about." I didn''t even think about it. Yeah, if I were him, I would be concerned too. A murder happened, and the suspect hasn''t been caught. The priest goes missing, and now Melody''s comet is passing by. So many bad omens in such a short period. To think about the amount of concern he must be in right now. And to top everything off, the tablet breaks and the baby is acting strangely. "What would you like me to do?"


    "What can you do?"


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    "I can check to see if young Abel has any curses on him. Would you like me to do that?"


    "Yes, please, that would be great. Thank you, Anna. I know this must sound crazy."


    "No, not at all. You are a concerned parent who is only worrying about your family''s well-being. You have nothing to apologize for."


    "Thank you, Anna. I mean it. Our little town is lucky to have a priest like you."


    "I don''t know. With the blunder with the tablet, it seems I have a lot to learn."


    "Hey, at least you''re better than the previous priest. Hahaha."


    "Haha. You''re probably right. Even I have to admit that might be true. Haha."


    "Hahahah."


    "Aaaaaahhhhhhh!"


    "Was that Mrs. Lily?" Henry immediately darted to the door of the bedroom and opened it, barging into the room with me quickly following him. I don''t see anything wrong, and Lily looks perfectly fine. Why did she scream?


    "Lily, are you okay? What''s wrong?"


    "There."


    As Mrs. Lily said this, she pointed to the window that was opposite her bed. I went to it and looked to see if there was anything weird or out of the ordinary. But there''s nothing other than the comet. I must say the comet does look very beautiful with all the wonderful colors lighting up the night sky. But nothing that was out of the ordinary. "What am I looking for?"


    "..."


    "Lily, what did you see?"


    "... It looked like an eye."


    "An eye?"


    "Yes! A giant eye was looking at me through the window! When I screamed, it ran off. You''ve got to believe me!"


    "We do, Lily, but you must understand that this does sound absurd."


    "I know it does, but I saw it!"


    "Well, Mrs. Lily, whatever it was, seems to be gone. I don''t think it will come back."


    "Hey, Anna."


    "Yes?"


    "Please check Abel, and after that, I think we should head to the church. I don''t think it''s safe to stay here tonight."


    "Alright." I don''t see anything out of the ordinary. He looks perfectly fine. No curses, no nothing. "I don''t see anything."


    "Are you sure?"


    "Positive."


    "Okay, just give me a second to pack some essential items."


    "Okay." What is going on? Everything is falling apart all around us, but why? Is it caused by a malevolent force? A force that likes to play with its food. Whatever the case is, I must figure out what this entity is and what it wants. It may be the thing that''s under the town. I will have to check on it when Henry, Lily, and Abel are safe at the church. My god, everything is such a mess.


    Knock! Knock! Knock!


    "..."


    "..."


    "..."


    "... Do any of you know who that is?" Both Henry and Lily shook their heads, still looking bewildered and fearful of what''s at the door. Is it the entity that''s been messing with us? "You guys stay here."


    "Wait, Lady Anna!"


    "Don''t worry, Mrs. Lily, you have nothing to worry about. I''m sure everything will be fine."


    "Are you sure?"


    "Yes, I am. Henry, continue to pack. We must leave as soon as possible."


    "Right!"


    I wonder if it''s still at the door. At first, I thought it was trying to mess with us, but now I''m not too sure. It seems calculated. Is it after something or someone? What is it? What does it want? I arrived at the front door and began to open it before¡­ What is this feeling? I can''t open the door. My hand won''t move. I can''t move. Why? Is my body telling me to not open this door? Wait, is the entity outside the door? Oh, Lord Nangar, father of the heavenly sky and ruler of the world, please give me the strength and courage to face this evil being and save this family. Let your fiery breath cleanse this world from all sins and remove all evils. Oh, Lord, for it is only you that is the rightful ruler. Oh Lord, for it is only you and you alone¡­ With the Lord giving me strength, I opened the door and saw¡­ Nothing! There was nothing at the door. Strangest of all, it was completely pitch black. I could barely see what was in front of me. The moon, stars, and even the comet were gone. It was like they had never existed in the first place. Even stranger was that there was no noise. No toads croaking, no wolves howling, and no owls hooting. Not even the wind made a sound. It must have left. But why? If my theory is correct and it is after someone, wouldn''t the most logical choice be me? I am the strongest out of everyone here. Wait, was it trying to lure me away from them?! Then all of a sudden, the lights went out.


    "Aaaaahhhh!"


    "Lily!"


    "What''s going on?"


    "Aaaaahhhh! Nooo!"


    "Mrs. Lily, what''s wrong?"


    "Abel is gone!"


    "Lily, what do you mean Abel''s gone?!"


    "It stole him!"


    "No! No, no, no, no! God dammit!"


    "Henry, please calm down!"


    "Aaaahhhh!"


    "Henry!"


    "I had him, but he''s gone! I had him, but he''s gone!"


    "Mrs. Lily, calm down!"


    "Hahahah!"


    "Henry?" Why is he laughing?


    "Hahahaha!"


    "Henry, please! I''m begging you."


    "He''s gone! Hahaha! It stole him! This is a punishment from the Lord."


    "This is no punishment. Please just calm down. We can get through this and find Abel."


    "Lord Nangar is punishing us for our sins by taking Abel away. Don''t you see that priest? We''ve sinned, and now we are being punished for it! Hahaha!"


    "Wwwwaaaaaaa!"


    What was that? Something outside just gave a blood-curdling cry that sent shivers down my spine. It sounded like¡­ A baby crying.


    "It''s Abel!"


    "It''s Abel!"


    "It''s Abel!" As all of us said this, Henry darted out of the room and house. I followed him.


    "Wwwwaaaaaaaaa!"


    "Abel! Where are you?!"


    "Henry, it sounds like it''s coming from the forest!" I can''t keep up with him. He''s too fast, and all of these damn trees are in the way! Where did he go? This isn''t good. I have no idea where he is, and I''m stranded in a forest. I need to find Henry soon. With that thing roaming around, it''s not safe out here. But how am I going to find him?


    "Wwwaaaaa!"


    Wait, that sounds close to me. I ran towards the cries, finding myself in a clearing when the cries stopped. I stood still, listening for any more cries. But there was¡­ Nothing! Why did the cries stop? I have a bad feeling about this. I began to look around when I noticed something. I barely noticed it in the darkness. It looked so faint I could easily miss it. I can''t tell what it is¡­ Wait, is that an eye?! It''s a giant eye looking at me! I have to get out of here. I must run, but I can''t! I can''t move! My body won''t listen to me! The eye was still looking at me. It never took its gaze off of me.


    "Wwwwaaaaaaaa!"


    Wait, it''s the one making the crying sounds. It''s not Abel that''s crying. Is it trying to lure me to it by pretending to be Abel? Why? The eye seems to be discussed with me. It is judging me, but why? Then its eye narrowed.


    "Michael."


    What did it just say? Michael. Who is Michael? Its voice didn''t even sound human. Then it slowly faded into the darkness. I stood there for some time not moving, still frozen in fear. Then the crying began again. I need to leave and go back to the church! I can''t stay here! I ran in the opposite direction of the cries. If I can at least make it into town, I will be safe from that thing. I''m sorry, Henry, but I don''t want to die. I hope you live long enough for me to apologize. I ran as fast as I could out of the forest and made it to town. I then collapsed to my knees. I made it! I''m safe from that thing. I quickly got back up and went straight to the church. Before I opened the doors to go inside, I felt it again. This feeling was similar to how I felt when it knocked at the door at the Smiths house. I knew it was inside, but instead of my body not moving, it moved on its own. I was a slave to it. I tried to stop it, but my hands opened the door, and my feet moved forward. I walked to the middle of the room and stopped. In front of me there was an altar, and on the altar was Abel. Was he at the church this entire time? Then I noticed it. It was in the church, but how? This thing shouldn''t be able to walk on holy grounds. It was looking at Abel. It had a look of love in its eye when it was looking at Abel. It loves him. It faded back into darkness.


    "Wwwwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"


    It''s crying again. Wait, no, it''s not crying; it''s Abel that''s crying. I ran to Abel and saw the boy crying with his left eye bleeding. Blood stained his eye, and some of the blood ran down his cheek.