The two men who had previously tried to extort them now knelt trembling before Pieter Smit, their knees pounding against the cold stone pavement, unable to rise, as if all their courage and arrogance had crumbled at the mere sight of the star emblazoned on his chest. Pale-faced and breathless, they gripped the toes of Pieter Smit's shoes and began kissing his feet repeatedly, their lips trembling as they pleaded for mercy, hoping that by such a lowly means they could escape a punishment that would likely be far more horrific than a simple beating.
"Enough," Pieter Smit's voice was calm yet firm, cutting through their wails without any excess emotion. "Stop kneeling."
The two men fell silent, but still dared not rise, as if those words weren't enough to quell the fear that had gripped their hearts.
"I won't punish you," Pieter Smit continued, lowering his hand. "But from now on, stop using public facilities for your own gain. These city streets don't belong to you."
Hearing that, the two men immediately nodded repeatedly, their faces filled with gratitude mixed with fear. Then, they slowly stood up, their bodies still trembling, before quickly walking away without a glance, as if afraid that one small mistake might change Pieter Smit's decision.
Pieter Smit said nothing more. He simply turned around and continued walking calmly, as if nothing had happened. A few steps later, he turned to Kyne, who had been observing everything with a blank expression.
"Come on, young man," said Pieter Smit. "Let's go back home."
"Okay," Kyne replied curtly with a small nod.
They walked along the cobblestone streets of Sandburg, which were slowly losing their sunlight. The sky was turning dark orange, then gradually turning to a blackish purple, signaling that night was almost completely over. Oil lamps on several street corners were starting to light up one by one, but most of the buildings had already closed their doors, as if the city itself was preparing to welcome something it didn't want human eyes to see.
-
By the time they arrived at Pieter Smit's house, night had completely fallen. The air felt colder, and the silence surrounding the surroundings made their footsteps audible. Kyne stood in the hallway, observing the surroundings, while Pieter Smit silently went to his room.
Shortly afterward, Pieter Smit emerged wearing a long, black robe that hung near the floor. The fabric was thick, the color deep, and despite its simplicity, it exuded a strange aura that made the room feel slightly heavier.
Kyne raised an eyebrow slightly, then smiled slightly.
"Honestly," he said, "you look very good in that robe. Like someone from a Satanic cult."
Pieter Smit chuckled softly. "Is that a compliment or an insult?"
"A bit of both," Kyne replied casually. "By the way, where did you get that robe?"
"I found it on the street a while ago," Pieter Smit replied, adjusting the collar of his robe.
Kyne looked at him skeptically. "Found it on the street? Could it really belong to a real Satanist group?"
"Perhaps," Pieter Smit replied, seemingly unfazed.
"But I'll only be using it tonight."
Kyne paused for a moment, then pointed to himself. "Then what about me? Do I need to wear a robe too?"
"No need," Pieter Smit replied firmly. "You're just the subject of this ritual."
Kyne nodded slowly. Without another word, he picked up the pistol hanging on the wall of the house and tucked it into his belt, his movements calm but cautious.
"Let's go now," he said. "I'm afraid they've been waiting too long."
"That's right," Pieter Smit sighed. "I don't like keeping people waiting."
They left the house and locked the door with a long wooden plank for security. The town of Sandburg at night felt much quieter than usual. There was no bustle, no hurried footsteps, only the night wind rustling gently through the empty alleys.
The city lights were dim, as if deliberately dimming themselves to avoid witnessing what was about to happen.
Their steps led them back to Sandburg's cursed church. The building stood dark and silent, looming like a shadow of death over the city. There was no light outside, though Kyne knew there were still some working lights inside. Whether this was intended to create a solemn atmosphere or to instill fear, Kyne was unsure.
As soon as they entered, several figures were waiting.
The church guard stood at the head, followed by the church founder, two prominent pastors from Sandburg, and Andrew Carlmino, Pieter Smit's longtime friend. All wore identical black robes, making them look like members of a forbidden cult.
"You've finally arrived," the church guard said in a low voice.
Without further ado, they began preparing for the ritual. Using white chalk and a dark, pungent liquid, they drew a large symbol on the church floor—a six-pointed star within a perfect circle, its lines bold and meaningful.
"Everyone," the church guard said, handing out black candles to the five people acting as summoners, "light these candles."
Then he looked at Kyne.
"Young man, stand in the center of the altar."
Kyne nodded without hesitation. He stepped to the center of the six-pointed star and sat cross-legged, his hands resting on his knees. Candles were lit and placed at each corner of the symbol, their flames trembling gently as if responding to something unseen.
The summoners raised their hands, moving their arms slowly and rhythmically, and began to recite an ancient incantation that echoed throughout the church.
The sound of footsteps ceased completely, replaced by a silence so thick that every breath sounded like an echo that shouldn't have existed in the ancient church. Five summoners stood at each corner of the symbol, black candles burning with small, unstable flames, as if an invisible wind was constantly trying to extinguish them. Their shadows danced wildly on the church walls, creating strange silhouettes that seemed to move on their own, as if something were standing with them in the room.
The churchwarden raised his hands higher, his black robes rustling gently, and in a low, yet powerful voice, he began to recite the first incantation.
Greek Incantation:
«Άκουσέ μας, ω πρίγκιπα της αβύσσου.
Λύσε τα δεσμά, άνοιξε τις πύλες.
Στο όνομα του σκότους και της φωτιάς,
έλα έξω, Εωσφόρε.»
«Ákousé mas, o prínkipa tis avýssou.[1]
Lýse ta desmá, ánoixe tis pýles.[2]
Sto ónoma tou skótous kai tis fotiás,[3]
éla éxo, Eosfóre.[4]
The sound of the incantation didn't just echo; it seemed to creep into the church walls, seep into the stone floor, and vibrate in the air. Kyne, sitting in the center of the symbol, felt a chill run down his spine. He still tried to breathe steadily, but his chest felt increasingly heavy, as if an invisible pressure were slowly pressing down on his soul from within.
The summoners then began to chant a ritual chant, their voices blending together, low and rhythmic, creating a song that sounded familiar yet somehow felt very ancient, as if it had been sung thousands of times before this era existed.
Title of Ritual Song:
"Cantus Abyssi" (Song of the Abyss)
Lyrics:
Verse I
"Sanguis ignis, anima clamat,[5]
Tenebrae surgunt, lux dilumat.[6]
Ex inferno, rex vocatur,[7]
Mundus tremit, fata mutatur."[8]
As soon as the first verse was sung, Kyne's body reacted immediately. A deep red energy began to emerge from within him, at first thin like mist, then gradually becoming denser, swirling around his body in an erratic motion. The aura felt hot and deadly, making the air around him vibrate, and the stone floor beneath him began to emit fine cracks.
Kyne clenched his teeth, cold sweat pouring down his forehead. He could feel Lucifer moving within him, pressing against the seal he had maintained with all his soul power. Every second felt like a melee, where the slightest lapse in attention could drag his consciousness into an abyss from which he would never recover.
Calm down…
Don't lose control…
The ritual chanting continued, growing faster and heavier. The candle flames changed color, from pale yellow to dark red, their flames stretching unnaturally long. The shadows of the summoners on the church walls began to distort, their bodies appearing taller, slimmer, as if no longer fully human.
Verse II:
Lux cadit, spes deletur,[9]
Fatum hominum iam solvitur.[10]
Ex catenis, rex surgit,[11]
Infernum tremit, mundus tangit.[12]
Verse III:
O Lucifer, stella fracta,[13]
Exsul caeli, anima pacta.[14]
Per carnem, per spiritum,[15]
Ingredere, fac dominium.[16]
Verse IV:
Audi nos, servos noctis,[17]
Da potentiam, da mortis.[18]
Non lux, non salus petimus,[19]
Sed veritatem in tenebris.[20]
Verse V:
Sigillum cadit, porta patet,[21]
Sanguis resonat, anima iacet.[22]
Ex abyssis, surge nunc,[23]
Lucifer, rex infernum.[24]
Reff (repeated twice, the tone gets faster and heavier):
Ave, ave, dominus ignis,[25]
Ave, ave, rex tenebris.[26]
Mundus flectitur, lex perit,[27]
Cum tu venis, Lucifer venit.[28]
In the final verse of the song, the ground around the six-pointed star symbol shook violently.
Suddenly, the night sky outside the church changed.
The clouds parted as if torn by something unseen, and within the darkness, a giant red eye slowly opened. It shone brightly, its color blood-red, its pupil pitch-black like a bottomless pit. It was so large that it filled the entire sky, obliterating the moon and stars, as if the world were left with only one eye staring back at it.
The pressure instantly crushed the earth.
The church creaked loudly, its walls trembled, and glass windows shattered. The summoners staggered, some nearly falling to their knees, but they forced themselves to remain standing, resisting the fear gripping their hearts.
Kyne felt his body slowly rise into the air.
His feet no longer touched the floor. The red aura grew thicker, forming a vortex that surrounded his body like a cocoon of energy. His hair rose from the immense pressure, and his breathing became increasingly labored. He could feel something trying to seize control of his body, not with brute force, but with a slow, determined push, as if to say that resistance was futile.
Then the voice came.
It was soft, yet jolting.
The voice didn't come from one direction, but from all directions, piercing through the church walls, through the sky, through the souls of everyone who heard it. The ground shook violently, the sky rumbled, accompanied by a low laugh filled with mockery and arrogance.
"Hahahahahahaha…"
The laughter made Kyne's blood run cold.
Kyne's eyes, which had been closed until then, suddenly opened.
They now glowed red, like the giant eyes in the sky, their pupils narrowed, their gaze blank yet filled with a power that was no longer entirely his own. His face slowly lifted, and a faint smile that wasn't his own appeared at the corners of his lips.
The voice came again, this time clearer, closer, as if coming directly from Kyne's body.
"I am Lucifer…"
His voice was calm, full of authority, yet it carried enough pressure to make summoners tremble in fear.
"The Demon King who was chained in hell for hundreds of years."
The red aura exploded even stronger, making the symbols on the church floor glow brightly.
"And now…"
Kyne's smile widened, his gaze sweeping across the ritual altar.
"…I have returned."
A moment of silence fell, as if the world were holding its breath.
Within that body, deep behind the fiery red gaze, Kyne's soul still remained—oppressed, wounded, but not yet completely lost.
And it was on that night that Kyne's destiny truly began to deviate from the path of ordinary mortals.
[1] “Hear us, O lord of the abyss.
[2] Remove the shackles, open the gates.
[3] In the name of darkness and fire,
[4] Come out, Lucifer.
[5] “Blood and fire, the soul cries out,
[6] Rise, dim light.
[7] From hell, the king is summoned,
[8] The world trembles, fate changes.”
[9] Light crumbles, hope is dashed,
[10] Human destiny is now unraveled.
[11] From chains, the king rises,
[12] Hell trembles, the world is touched.
[13] O Lucifer, fallen star,
[14] Exiled from heaven, bound by a soul pact.
[15] Through the flesh, through the spirit,
[16] Come in, and take your power.
[17] Listen to us, night servant,
[18] Give strength, give death.
[19] We do not ask for light or salvation,
[20] Only truth in the darkness.
[21] Seals collapse, gates open,
[22] The blood trembles, the soul lies.
[23] Rise now from the abyss,
[24] Lucifer, king of hell.
[25] Hail, hail, lord of fire,
[26] Hail, hail, king of darkness.
[27] The world bows, the law disappears,
[28] When you came, Lucifer came.