Husks

Religious event

Bonk.   Phenex struck her head against the invisible barrier separating herself, Metatron, and the entrance to Samayim. Yet again.   Bonk.   It had been one thousand and two hundred years since she had last seen the golden fields of Yetzirah, and she was not going to be deterred by some damnable holy force-field.   Bonk.   Either she'd tunnel her way through and into Assiah by sheer determination, or she'd make enough of a nuisance of herself that they'd have to let her in. Or at least come talk to her.   Bonk.   It didn't hurt. At least, it didn't hurt physically. After being away for so long, dreaming of the day she could return to paradise, being so close and yet so casually forbidden was tearing Phenex up inside. She clenched her fists and flapped her wings with tears in her eyes.   Bon–

Something was different. Something was wrong. Phenex tumbled forward, through the barrier and into a space beyond. And yet this was not Assiah. This was not Samayim at all. The sky overhead was too black and cold, the ground too gray. A great ruined structure rose up around her, like a chapel left to ruin and frozen as it collapsed. Hollow peaks rose in the distance through holes in the crumbling walls. Everything was still. But it was not quite silent.   A strange sound met Phenex's ears; soft crackling, like burning wood. She turned, made wary by the empty sky above her, and saw a figure closing a fissure in the air. As it sealed, Phenex could see the beach, the temple, and the world she had left. She clutched her arms around herself protectively and tried to gather up some defensive magic. ...Nothing. Not a single drop of ambient magical energy existed here. It was like suddenly realizing you'd been suffocating for minutes on end.   With an effort of will, Phenex focused. She shivered, and turned her attention to the other figure who shared this bizarre space. It was a Demon, or something like it; a humanoid figure cloaked in red fabric. Dry paper had been affixed to every inch of its clothes, and most of it was alight. As the figure moved, the parchment smoked and crackled; the same sound Phenex had heard upon arrival.   "W-who are you?" she managed. Phenex's musical voice sounded like an intrusion on the hollow silence of this chapel.   Without answering, the figure approached Phenex and took up one of her hands, examining the palm. Those licking flames wreathing its hand should have hurt, but Phenex was well-acquainted with fire. "Yes..." the stranger murmured. Seeming satisfied with what it saw there, it detached and smiled. "Welcome to Tehom. The Deep." Perhaps registering Phenex's blank stare, it continued: "Humans call it The Abyss. No? Oh well, no matter."   "You brought me here." It was as much a realization as an accusation.   "Yes, Phenex. I had to wait until Metatron's attention was elsewhere. Until he bent down to pick up those humans and whatever other fodder they had with them. Then I could bring you here safely. You see, you are very important to our plans."   Phenex kicked herself mentally. She was an archdemon. How could she allow herself to be caught on the back foot like this? Manipulated and mocked... And yet, with not so much as a twinkle of magic in the air, what power did she truly have? "'Our' plans?" She decided to stall for time.   There was movement behind her and Phenex turned to see two more figures enter the ruined chapel. One was a towering mass of cracked black stone cut in humanoid form. Long trails of flame trailed down from its head in a facsimile of hair. The other was a standard hu...man... It was odd. He stood there on two legs, with his two arms and average face and average build and peasant's clothing. Yet no matter how much Phenex looked at him, she couldn't get those pieces to add up in her head as "human." Her instincts told her, without any room for doubt, that this was something else.   "Is this...Hell? Are we in Sheol?"   The one in flame-licked paper cackled. "Hell? I thought you of all beings would know this isn't Hell. Tehom is below Hell and above Heaven. It is everywhere and nowhere, connecting all things. Ah..." The figure trailed off, its manic speech slowing down. "But that's not important. You see, you're going to help us out of this place."   Phenex found herself nodding. She definitely wanted to get out of this place.   "You carried the Seed of Heaven for one thousand and three hundred years—"   "Two hundred," she interrupted.   There was a granite crack behind Phenex as the creature of stone and flame slammed its fist into the ground, shattering it. The one of burning psalms stared at her with flat eyes. For a moment, she felt certain she was about to die. One thousand two hundred years, just to end like this...   Then, the tension all drained away, and the flame-wreathed one smiled. "One thousand and two hundred years, yes. It would not be strange, then, for an object of such power to have affected you in some way, yes? That's right. You, Phenex, are a conduit to Samayim, even if you don't know it. And you're going to take us there."   In her chest, Phenex's heart leapt. This was exactly what she'd wanted. If Metatron wouldn't allow her into Heaven, then surely these beings, whatever they were, would be the next best option. All that mattered was that she return to Yetzirah to see paradise again with her own eyes. That's all that mattered. As Phenex's eyes lingered once again on the thing that wasn't human, she tried desperately to convince herself.