History/Story
History: When it comes to understanding the origin of the Nephalem, there are several steps that must be taken into consideration that were a result of the life of the true Nephalem who became known as Deniel Decayuss Thormun, and the events that followed. In addition, it must be understood that the self-proclaimed title and alias that go under the names of "The True Nephalem" and "The Nephalem" are not things that should be taken too seriously, specifically the latter. The True Nephalem alongside the Nephalem are not meant to imply that Deniel considers himself to be the one and only, or perhaps a self-proclaimed monarch of the race known as Nephalem. The former title "The True Nephalem" is merely a state in which Deniel has attained, similar to being "Enlightened", except in the body of a Nephalem; it is when the creature has attained mastery and near-perfection of both demonic and angelic arts that course within their veins, which is oftentimes coupled with the succession of defeating or killing their parents. And the latter "The Nephalem" is perhaps much more of a scientific and intimidating title Deniel has proclaimed upon himself, meant to instill fear or give him a sense of self-identity.
Laying down those foundations, the next section of the history to the True Nephalem is establishing the baseline to which the events afterwards will significantly affect the life of Deniel. The generation and era that he was born in all contributed to determining his fate, which is the only surviving Nephalem from the wrath of Arianna the White Angel and Diabolos the Black Devil. Following the life of those two is also the life of Deniel's brother: Vergilius. A fellow Nephalem, Verigilius played a key role in guiding the life of Deniel, that which is just as significant--perhaps even more so--than Arianna and Diabolos. The story of the first two must be divided into two sections: the first of which is their lives as humans, and then the second is their several millennium afterlife as a demon and an angel. Let us begin.
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History: When it comes to understanding the origin of the Nephalem, there are several steps that must be taken into consideration that were a result of the life of the true Nephalem who became known as Deniel Decayuss Thormun, and the events that followed. In addition, it must be understood that the self-proclaimed title and alias that go under the names of "The True Nephalem" and "The Nephalem" are not things that should be taken too seriously, specifically the latter. The True Nephalem alongside the Nephalem are not meant to imply that Deniel considers himself to be the one and only, or perhaps a self-proclaimed monarch of the race known as Nephalem. The former title "The True Nephalem" is merely a state in which Deniel has attained, similar to being "Enlightened", except in the body of a Nephalem; it is when the creature has attained mastery and near-perfection of both demonic and angelic arts that course within their veins, which is oftentimes coupled with the succession of defeating or killing their parents. And the latter "The Nephalem" is perhaps much more of a scientific and intimidating title Deniel has proclaimed upon himself, meant to instill fear or give him a sense of self-identity.
Laying down those foundations, the next section of the history to the True Nephalem is establishing the baseline to which the events afterwards will significantly affect the life of Deniel. The generation and era that he was born in all contributed to determining his fate, which is the only surviving Nephalem from the wrath of Arianna the White Angel and Diabolos the Black Devil. Following the life of those two is also the life of Deniel's brother: Vergilius. A fellow Nephalem, Verigilius played a key role in guiding the life of Deniel, that which is just as significant--perhaps even more so--than Arianna and Diabolos. The story of the first two must be divided into two sections: the first of which is their lives as humans, and then the second is their several millennium afterlife as a demon and an angel. Let us begin.
- Chapter 1:
- Chapter 1: The Life of Diabolos and Arianna
The simplicity of the lives for the two comes from the fact that they are both about the same age, with Diabolos being several months older than his wife. Taking place thousands of years before the King of Iceberg ascended his throne and froze the land over with his crown, this was back when the land of Iceberg was not referred to as that; its name has been long forgotten, but it was once a very rich and lush farmland. One of the wealthiest owners owned a massive castle and estate that would later become the Icecrown Citadel. But long before that, perhaps several hundred years, it was owned by a very wealthy and kind-hearted man, whose name has been long forgotten in history. Perhaps the only two individuals that would know of it would be Arianna and Diabolos, but even they are ignorant to it; they have long forgotten the name. Regardless, there is little significance to the father of Diabolos, and it must focus on the man himself.
Diabolos--from the very day of his birth--was entrusted with a hefty responsibility of carrying on his family's tradition and business of owning an enormous size of farmland, one day ascending his way to his father's position when he is not there. One important thing to note is that Diabolos is not the Black Devil's actual name; it was the name granted to him after reincarnation. For just like his father, Diabolos had forgotten his name. The infancy of Diabolos was nothing out of the ordinary; he was much too young to recall anything, so his parents never forced him anything out of the ordinary as a toddler. When he reached the age of around six years old, he was given a personalized maid from a nearby family that worked under Diabolos's father under his farmland: they wanted their newborn daughter to attempt to become something much more than themselves, so they handed her off as a maid to the estate of Diabolos's father. And her name was Arianna.
It was fortunate that Arianna was around the same age as the young Diabolos, for the father of the child was psychologically experienced, and knew the hefty responsibility that his child would soon have to bear. The comfort of--at the very least--having a personal servant, or even a friend, would certainly help his son through the endeavors that he was about to experience, thus Diabolos's personal maid from that day forth was none other than his future wife: Arianna. The little girl's role was much more than to perform the simple tasks that Diabolos himself would not have time for due to the immense amount of rigor and work that he was about to experience, but rather be a positive thing in the life that was about to unfold; he would always have someone to talk to or someone to be there for him. More importantly, someone of his age range.
Just as his father anticipated, and something that was--at the time--unbeknownst to Diabolos, the infancy and childhood of the man was quite rigorous and challenging. Having the hefty responsibility of one day taking on the entire estate owned by his father and managing it. Thus, at an early age, Diabolos was taught mathematics, which would then evolve into business, sociology, psychology, science, and several different languages as the years went by to make him the most successful owner--the goal being better than his father. Aside from being a businessman, it was custom for Diabolos to also learn basic practices of being a "gentleman" or a "man" in genera; he was taught swordsmanship--which he grew to thoroughly enjoy--, household chores--although he did not have to do them--, and several other instances of labor that would come in handy should he find himself without Arianna or in need of his own assistance.
Diabolos was, in essence, taught to be a very good and all-around genuine man of utmost intelligence, presence, and power. The responsibility of such a task was arduous for the young man, but certainly not impossible. And fortunately for him, the psychology in which his father figured Arianna would suffice did, indeed come in handy.
Unlike her soon-to-be husband Diabolos, Arianna's name was her birth-given one, and was kept with her through the afterlife. More importantly was the life regarding Arianna herself, which heavily differed from that of Diabolos in some ways, but also shared some similarities with him. Arianna's parents were not rich, and they could not hope to be so; they had been workers on Diabolos's father's farm for years. Although not a miserable life or job, it certainly was far from luxurious, but luckily for them, their daughter was given the opportunity to serve directly in the manor of Diabolos's father, the massive fortress and castle in which a seemingly baron-like man ruled over them. Diabolos's father was not ruthless or harsh, and he did not need to be so, but the luxury could definitely not be shared with all of them; as in some aspects he was quite selfish with his wealth.
Arianna was taken in--and contrary to Diabolos's rigorous training to becoming a businessman, estate owner, and gentleman--she was given the training methods to becoming Diabolos's personal maid. She was taught household and outdoor chores that would serve both the estate in its entirety, and Diabolos himself: washing clothes, folding clothes, sweeping and mopping floors, washing dishes, being polite, knocking before entering, making tea, cooking food, cleaning messes, organization, and putting clothes on another person. All of these would accommodate her role as a maid and Diabolos's personal "servant".
In reality, while Arianna was undergoing her training, she had never actually met Diabolos; she only heard rumors from her trainees, one of them consisting of Diabolos's mother, and this was particularly because Diabolos at an early age was so invested in his studies and work that he was unable to even have a moment of free time to meet Arianna. Thus, the two of them had never actually seen each other until they were of the age of eight.
The meeting itself was quite brief--as Diabolos still had work to do--, and was quite awkward in some aspects. Arianna had immediately fallen in "love" with Diabolos upon first site; she was an ignorant little girl, after all, but the appearance of the young boy was already quite dashing. Not possessing the dark red eyes that would come after reincarnation, Diabolos still retained his jet black hair even from an early age, and a set of piercing green eyes. His stare was quite stern due to the frustration built up inside of him from the amount of rigor imposed upon him, but despite that his build appeared to be very healthy for his age, he carried himself in a very strict but also elegant manner, and his intelligence was far beyond that of people his own age. It certainly outmatched Arianna, who was only given basic fundamentals and tools for her age, with most of her training focused on household labor. Whilst Arianna was dashed and swooned by Diabolos's appearance, although not showing it, the young Diabolos was certainly not interested in girls. His disinterest could not deny the already developing beauty of the young blonde; her sky blue eyes and blonde hair practically screamed innocence, and although she had come no where near to posses them yet, her beauty would very swiftly evolve in adolescence. And so would the feelings of Diabolos towards her.
Weeks after first meeting each other, Arianna had officially been in servitude to Diabolos, although the boy was reluctant to it at first. In a very swift amount of time, however, his reluctance would very soon turn to gratitude. The psychological effects that his father anticipated began to kick in merely weeks in; Diabolos was stern and strict when he first met Arianna due to the anger he had built up inside of him, but the innocence of the young girl had quelled that loathing he felt towards his parents and his own life. Arianna's ignorance worked towards her innocence; the conversation Diabolos had with the girl often resulted in him displaying superior intellectual aspects, impressing the young girl, and making him feel much better about himself, as if his studies had finally been given a purpose. Talking between the two was very abundant, since Arianna spent much of her time around Diabolos, and very quickly the young girl managed to pick up some of the capabilities of Diabolos. He had rubbed off on her in a positive way, and she too became curious; the things that she was taught in preparation for becoming his maid simply were not enough for her, so from Diabolos, she learned from him. And in a way, this worked towards Diabolos's benefit as well: he was much more likely to remember something if he taught it to someone else, as it displayed understanding of the certain topic, thus his studies seemed to be much less rigorous and more enjoyable.
Arianna first fell in "love" with Diabolos when she first laid eyes on him, but it was merely because her untrained mind and body could not comprehend the feeling of attraction as a mere friend and well-endowed boy. Thus, she mistook it for love, which would eventually evolve into an actual form of love. To Diabolos, Arianna was much more than a servant or maid: she was his friend. And to Airanna, Diabolos was much more than his master: he was her friend as well. Through him she came to know things that she would have never been taught, and through him her mind developed almost at the rate that his did. Of course Diabolos was unable to cover everything he learned, but it was just enough to make Arianna appear more intelligent than the other maids in which she worked with. This gave Diabolos's parents the illusion that Arianna was much more acute and keen than they had initially anticipated, and would work towards her favor in the future when the two learned of the love between the master and servant.
Diabolos had not become attracted towards Arianna as anything more than a friend until the age of 14, but even then the two shared a kiss at the young age of 10 when Arianna practically begged Diabolos to do it--her attraction to him much stronger than his to hers at the time. The age of 14 for both Arianna and Diabolos was not the first--but rather the early ears--of their adolescence, and this worked towards strengthening their bond and "love" due to their bodies being developed. And with this development also came much more rigorous training for Diabolos, piling on more stress, and a larger need for Arianna's company. Diabolos's physical training had become much more adept, and he had even invited Arianna to join him in lessons on how to handle a sword, and even fight, which she did so reluctantly, although she did eventually get used to it. Diabolos's stronger attraction and seeming necessity for the company of Arianna were much more enjoyable days for the young woman. Her attraction to Diabolos still strong, she always assumed that he was unhappy with her despite their long conversations, and bonding. And to some degree she was right: Diabolos never saw Arianna anything more than a friend, and his cold and stern attitude he developed at an early age certainly didn't seem like anything more than that--oftentimes it made it seem as though he treated her as something less.
Thus, the times when Diabolos intentionally sought her out or assisted her voluntarily filled Arianna with joy, to the point where Diabolos himself began to fall in "love" with Arianna. He loved the intelligence that she had begun to muster from his teachings, she was the girl he spent most of the time with, and there was one key factor that he had not cared for as a kid but had stared to as a growing teenager: Arianna's looks. Blonde hair and blue eyes is enough for some boys, but Arianna's body and physique significantly developed during her adolescent years. A curvaceous figure had rapidly begun, with her hips growing wider and her waist slimmer, and her breasts sticking out much more. By the age of 16 her chest grew 3 cup sizes. Arianna was not alone when it came to a developing body, for Diabolos was growing from a boy to a man, and very swiftly, too. The physical training Diabolos endured heavily influenced a much more masculine figure, and the voice of a once stern and almost laughable child was quickly growing to become that of a man's. By the time he was 16, alongside Arianna, one could almost mistake him for a 20 year old or perhaps older.
The age of 16 was magical for both Arianna and Diabolos; the figure of Arianna had significantly developed alongside that of her beloved Diabolos, and it is then that the two had confessed their "love" for each other. Although adolescent love can be very dangerous or rarely works out, the case of Arianna and Diabolos was special due to the fact that they lived under the same roof--and were even down the halls from each other--making interaction very common. In fact it was a necessity. The status as Diabolos's personal servant never changed: the two saw each other and spent time with each other almost all day and everyday. However they were far from ignorant: Diabolos knew that his father might not take lightly to being in love with his servant, thus the two attempted to keep the "love" aspect of their relationship behind closed doors. And it had worked, too. Diabolos's parents trusted Arianna, and often left her and him alone; the two of them never did anything that was beyond their age, but it certainly did help to strengthen their relationship. Several times they had gotten away with sleeping in the same bed.
After confessing their love, they continued to happily share it in secrecy over the next few years, until Diabolos had finally decided to share this stunning news with his father and mother. Contrary to what Diabolos had believed, the news would be much less shocking and resentful by his father than he anticipated.
The father of Diabolos, previously established and stated, had made a female of his son's age group his personal servant and maid so he could ease the emotional and psychological stress by spending time with her. Of course he would have preferred that it never went that far, but he had only himself to blame when it did. The day that Diabolos confessed, it was truly some form of shocking news, but he never reacted in a negative manner as the two young adults had figured. Arianna had grown to be a beautiful and intelligent woman, as Diabolos still spent his time teaching Arianna what he had learned. In addition, there was one very astounding fact that he had practically brought upon himself: she spent almost 10 years with him. Nobody knew Diabolos as well as Arianna did, no girl spent as much time with him as Arianna did, and her level of intellect and beauty were far beyond what his father had originally hoped. In essence, Arianna was the perfect woman to marry his son and stay by his side; and if they made it through their childhoods and teenage years together, surely they could spend the rest of their lives together. In some ways, Diabolos's father had set up his son with his future wife from the very beginning. And it certainly would not be the wrong choice.
It could be inferred that if Diabolos's father had not chosen Arianna, many things--good and bad--could have been prevented. And the possibilities as such are endless. The fact of the matter is that the choice that his father made would echo throughout history, and although the human couple would never be anything essential or too special within their mortal lives, surely in their very soon-to-come afterlives they would have their names echoed in fear across the lands.
And thus, the marriage happened not too long afterwards. An elegant and extravagant event, in which Diabolos became wedded to Arianna, the two swore that they would be together until parted by death. The irony was in the fact that not even death could keep the two lovers apart, for they would seemingly be together for an eternity. And with the marriage came the declared inheritance; Diabolos was too young to inherit the entire estate, but it was agreed on that he would be the one to do so alongside with his newly wed wife Arianna. The two married at an extremely young age, each of them 18 years, yet to them that was insignificant. It continued on anyway, and it had completed. Diabolos and Arianna were now husband and wife.
Diablos anticipated inheritance would not occur in several decades or so, as his father was still in a healthy condition, and Diabolos himself was at the young age of 18. His father was only in his 40's, and it seemed as though it would be a long time before Diabolos himself would have the burden of running land and business; that would mean he could spend those next decades in study and preparation, but more importantly: with his newly beloved wife Arianna. At least that is how it was meant to be. Diabolos's father was a middle-aged man, and healthy, but his health quickly changed and struck like a lightning bolt to Diabolos and his family.
In the short coming years, Diabolos and Arianna would find themselves in an inescapable predicament where Diabolos would have to take his father's place until he had gotten better. Unfortunately, wellness was not on the priority list of fate's decision for Diabolos's father; the man died not too long later of an inexplicable disease, and Diabolos was forced to take over the estate at the young age of 22.
It perhaps would have been a disastrous situation if Diabolos was an inexperienced and naive young man, and in some ways he was, but he had years of training, studying, and hard work behind him coupled with a tenacious mind, good nature, and an intimidating demeanor and posture that would secure him the upper hand in any battle whether it be financial or physical. The early days of Diabolos's inheritance could easily be described as smooth and well-off days, and perhaps would have been so if he and Arianna did not make one fatal mistake: having a child. Diabolos's father had procrastinated on having a child purposely until his late thirties for the reason that he must be accustomed to his way of life, and have a plan set down for the child's future. Unfortunately that was not the plan for Diabolos and Arianna. "Plan" is perhaps a misuse of a word, as Diabolos did not want a child, but Arianna secretly did.
The two were a married couple, and in their twenties, so it was not unusual for them to have intercourse. Diabolos took careful measures to ensure that a child would not be bred, but Arianna, going against her husband's will, made sure that it did happen. And when she announced to her husband that she was bearing a child, the news truly shocked Diabolos. Betrayal would have been the conveyed expression he felt towards his wife if he had believed that she had betrayed and gone against his will of not having a child; however, the deceptive and innocence of the young woman worked towards her advantage as she pleaded that it was a mere accident, and something had gone wrong out of her control. Diabolos anticipated somehow that it was a lie, but had no way of proving it; not to mention the innocence of Arianna made her all the more convincing, and why should he not believe his wife? It would cause a disconnect in their marriage.
The reason why Arianna wanted a child so badly was mainly because of her ignorance. At some point or another, some women get the urge to want a child, especially married once. Arianna, being the pure and innocent woman that she was, did not know the dangers or hardships in store for her and Diabolos alike. She never experienced the agonizing emotional pain and stress Diabolos went through, she was never physically abused in anyway, and her knowledge of the world, while complex in some, was extremely oblivious so the pains and negativeness of the world. Thus Arianna didn't even have a scope of the responsibility and duties she not only placed on herself, but also her husband.
Though upset, it was not as if Diabolos could deny Arianna the right to bear a child, or even dispose of the child in the first place; it was unjust. The irony is that if Diabolos knew what this child would become and do to both him and his wife, he probably would have done it from the start. Unfortunately, both Diabolos and Arianna would have to live from it, and inevitably die from it. Thus, Arianna got her wish of having a child, enjoying the time she spent carrying it and thinking of the joy of raising her own. For Diabolos, on the other hand, it was a completely different story: the emotional and psychological stress of attempting to be a father always got the better of him, the immense responsibility of trying to follow in his dead father's footsteps always struck fear into him, and it seemed as though Arianna wanted even more attention despite the new responsibilities wrought on him. It could easily be said that by intentionally getting herself pregnant, Arianna had already laid down the end for herself and Diabolos; she did have the capabilities of producing and perhaps raising a child, but Diabolos on the other hand was far too young for the task of being a father, and by putting that responsibility on him early she caused more fear and stress in her husband than perhaps she had anticipated. Or knew, for that matter. For Diabolos did not say a word about the newly brought stress on himself to his wife. How could he?
After 9 months, the child was born, a male. His name was important to Diabolos and Arianna, but insignificant with this story. What is important was how the child was raised and what became of it. For Diabolos's responsibility would be passed on to the child, and thus the same requisite of rigorous training was necessary for it. Of course Diabolos had attempted to start it at an even later age than what he had, to prevent his son from enduring the pain that he himself had experienced. However, even with all of the care that he gave as a father, and all of the love Arianna gave as a mother, it was not nearly enough for the child. Their son lacked on thing that the two of them had: each other. Ironic, indeed. For the child literally did have both Diabolos and Arianna, but it did not share the bond that Diabolos and Arianna shared as kids. What got Diabolos through those days of stress and fear of the future was being able to share with Arianna his thoughts and feelings, and have someone to talk to and be with. Their son, on the other hand, did not have that luxury. And if he did, perhaps the fate of both Diabolos and Arianna could be shifted; at the same time, no Nephalem would ever have been born. Perhaps. It is unknown, and there are far too many possibilities to consider. What is important is what happened, and what was done. And what was done was treachery.
In spite of having a loving mother, a caring father, luxury, intelligence, care, and everything a child could ask for, their son was still angry. Enraged, even. Frustrated with his mother and his father for forcing him to carry on the responsibility instead of letting him chose for himself. It was the same frustration Diabolos endured, except Diabolos had Arianna to assist him in going through with it. Their son did not. Keeping his hatred and protest inside of him for the long years, however, he endured 11 full years of it all, until the day that he was ready for inheritance. And then on that day, in one single move, it could be said that this man changed the fate of the world. Arianna and Diabolos were both in their thirties, and the sign of some age began to show on Diabolos, but Arianna seemingly remained everlastingly youthful. Regardless, their son was angry. Why should he be forced with this responsibility? He wanted the wealth all to himself, but he did not want to maintain it. He wanted to drain it. Drain it all for the pleasures in life: excessive food, alcohol, partying...women. Of course his parents would never stand for this, so there was only one solution.
Get rid of them. Seemingly extreme, indeed, but the young man did not care. He endured all of those years of emotional stress with almost no relief to it, and the brief relief that his parents provided him was like a drug: eventually the doses wore off and had no effect. Thus, in one move, he back stabbed his father, killing him right in front of his mother. Diabolos was much older and more experienced than his son, so if he had actually seen the attack coming, he could have easily prevented it. Or even taken down his son a one-on-one duel. Unfortunately, his son was a coward with no respect or honor, even for his own parents. He brought the blade straight through the back of his father, three times, once in the chest, until the middle aged man fell down with blood gushing out of his wounds and his eyes only seeing his wife in his last breath. The young woman, ignorant to pain and sadness, gasped upon the horror that she saw and trembled in fear. And without mercy to even the woman who brought him into the world, who cared for him all of those years, and who loved him just as much as she did her husband, he brought the blade down on her. Soaking her heart and organs with the blood of her husband, and even piercing the blade through the very womb that he had crawled from, their son treacherously and mercilessly murdered his parents in cold blood. Disposing of their bodies, the wealth was now his to inherit, and his alone.
And thus ended the lives of Diabolos and Arianna, the beginnings of their everlasting afterlife.
End of Chapter 1
- Chapter 2:
- Chapter 2: The Afterlife of Diabolos and Arianna
Some folk believe in an afterlife, and others do not. Those who do have very mixed views about it; one side believes that if a person was good in their life, they will be rewarded with eternal paradise and everlasting life, and if they were bad....they will be damned for an eternity and suffer in the flaming pits of Hell. Others believe that if a person dies, they are reincarnated into another being, and the cycle continues until they reach a certain point of what is known as "enlightenment". Whatever the case, the true afterlife for the land of Ishval and the rest of that universe is unknown. For it could be said that Diabolos and Arianna were not granted a "true" afterlife. For instead of being damned forever, entering paradise, or even reincarnated as another being, it was somewhat of a mix of the three. Arianna was reincarnated and granted an immortal life (only from age) in paradise: she was born as an angel. And Diabolos had become reincarnated as a devil in the deepest pits of Hell, immortal to age just like his wife, but not invincible.
There are reasons as to why these two were chosen for their respective roles. Each side never really intended or wanted them because of their bond, in fact that did not matter, but it was rather for now they acted in their lives. Arianna was chosen to be an angel because of her purity and innocence; not once in her life did she do something significantly unjust or wrong, except for lying to her husband. Even then, no one could really tell if that was a lie. And despite her innocence, she did have some sense of combat capabilities dating back to when Diabolos and herself trained as kids and teenagers. So while innocent and pure, she was not necessarily helpless. And then there came Diabolos. Perhaps even more confusing than Arianna was Diabolo's situation. Of all the things, and of all the people, why was he reincarnated as a Demon?
Diabolos was a good man in life, and had never intentionally wronged anyone or committed any kind of "sin" or murder. So why was he chosen? Why not some psychopath in the real world, or some devious evil mind that sought to bring about the end of the world? The answer lies under the mask of Diabolos, and the intentions of the Arch Demons that reincarnated him. Diabolos had done no evil, but that does not say he never thought about it. The days of his childhood and the stress Arianna put upon him did fill his thoughts and dreams with immense amounts of rage and anger, hatred boiling up inside of him as a little kid. Although he had chosen to mask it on the outside, there was no denying that on the inside he had felt it. He felt all of it. And rather than getting some insane, tortured soul to become a demon, they chose carefully with Diabolos. For included with the thoughts of evil lurking within his mind was the cunning and intelligent mind of a tenacious man. Combine that with his level of combat expertise, although he had mastered it yet, and he would make a fine Demon. The thoughts of rage would fuel his evil, his mind will guide his body in the right direction, and he had already gotten a start on the rigor and intense training it would take to go from a Demon to a Devil.
With the reasons out of the way, there remained the question. What happened next? How did the two of them get from entirely separate stages and realms of the afterlife back together? The story to that is incredibly long on Diabolos's side, but short on Arianna' side. So let us start with her.
The reincarnation, naturally, took Arianna by surprise. And even though she was granted life once more, sadness consumed her body and her soul. Dead...by her own son whom she loved so much. Where did it all go wrong? And why could she never be a good mother? Being the selfless woman that she was, not once did she blame it on Diabolos or her son; it seemed to her that it was all her fault. Yet, that would all change. For as an angel, she had duties, and powers. One of her duties was to safeguard humanity, something that she would have done happily were it not for her reluctant sadness. And as for her powers, due to her becoming cold nature, she was granted the Magic of an Ice Devil Slayer. Or Holy Ice, to put simply. It is unknown what exactly caused the change of heart with Arianna, but something did. For soon she no longer blamed herself, nor did she blame Diabolos. Perhaps what caused it was seeing what her son did with the wealth of the two of them. She saw him drinking, partying, spitting on the corpses of his parents, and indulging himself with as many women as he possibly could. Disgusted, and filled with hate for the first time, Arianna made her move.
Just like her death, the death of her son was unexpected. However, unlike her death, she did not backstab him or do it in any cowardly way. The only two factors that were the same were the mercilessness, and the unexpectedness. As her son was in yet another one of his parties, intoxicating himself with alcohol alongside his friends and women, the bouncers mistook Arianna for another girl in which their master would indulge himself with pleasure. Arianna, killed them on the spot. And as she entered her former home, she killed anyone and anything that moved. Tears streamed out of her eyes as she did so, but she did it anyway. Screams of her own pain were louder than the ones of her victims, which she impaled with ice, completely froze over, or just killed with an ice conjured sword. It was not inaccurate to say that it was a massacre, more or less. And when she came to the living room, she saw it there. Her son was sitting on the same couch she and Diabolos sat on with many other women, violating them and contemplating whether or not to sell the photo of his father and his mother. She could not take it. She killed her son and every other whore beside him right on the spot, freezing his corpse and theirs, and shattering it into a million pieces. It had been done. And she could not hold in her emotions.
Sitting on the couch that herself and her husband sat on, she hugged her knees and wept. And wept. And wept. She had done the unthinkable, and it was the first time she took another person's life, or even intentionally harmed someone else. The emotions that she felt flowing through her body were unbearable; where did her life go so wrong? She was happy with Diabolos. And now he was gone. She was happy to have a son. He was gone. She was happy for what had been given to her. And it was all taken away. She did nothing but weep there in the chair, for who knows how long. It is said that the Icecrown Citadel is made from the tears of Arianna. And while this is not one hundred percent true, myths do hold some form of truth in them. The truth is Arianna's tears were frozen, but it would have been literally impossible to cover all of the soon-to-be Icecrown Citadel. It did cover some of the chair and the room that she lay in, however. The truth behind the Icecrown Citadel is it came into existence not long after Arianna slew her son. For then, the king of soon-to-be-Iceberg took his crown and froze over the land. That froze the outside part of the Icecrown Citadel. And while Arianna wept, her Magic was able to grow uncontrollably. Thus, the endless blizzard that surrounds the Icecrown Citadel and prevents even the King of Iceberg from seeing it was created. And slowly, the interior of the Icecrown Citadel was frozen solid, with the emotions of Arianna going out of control. Until Diabolos arrived.
The story of her husband is much more long and complex, for the hundreds of years that the two spent apart, Arianna merely wept. While Diabolos did not have it so easy. The very topic of the land in which he writhed in is a very controversial statement, as there are many versions, interpretations, and stories to go along with it. But here, we are focusing on the Black Devil's Story. Made a demon because of mainly his potential rather than actual wrongdoing, Diabolos essentially had to climb the ranks if he ever wanted to meet or so Arianna ever again. He was born as one of the lowest classes of Demons, but fortunately for him, an Arch Demon that had reincarnated him as a Demon took much interest into him, and personally trained him. Showing Diabolos the ropes and ways that was key to surviving as a Demon, Diabolos was a swift learner.
As Diabolos's strength evolved, so did his appearance. His initial one when he first became a Demon was a much more humanistic one: scales were absent on his body, and he was essentially a human with enhanced capabilities. As he grew stronger, however, many parts of him changed. Both physically and emotionally. When first becoming a Demon and going under training, Diabolos was eager and wished to swiftly learn what had happened to his wife after his final moments, and have her in his embrace once again. Thus his progress was much more quick than other demons, but make no mistake, it still took him several hundred years. And in those several hundred years, all Arianna ever did was weep. Perhaps it would have not taken that long, cut back by about two hundred years, if Diabolos had not become so blind.
The swift intoxication of immense power had corrupted the mind of Diabolos, whom still did not avail with the title of "The Black Devil" quite just yet. Regardless, this power was highly contrasting to that of a demon that was his age. And thus, he failed to realize what he initially began to gain power for: to once again see his wife. It was not until his mentoring ArchDemon mocked him by letting him know that he had best check up on her that the Black Devil had suddenly remembered what he was doing. Confused, panicking, and scared for his wife, he demanded to know where she was at. "At home" was the only answer that Diabolos received. With terror inducing him, the Black Devil was finally capable of setting off into the realm of Earthland, a place that had been morphed the past several hundred years that he had been absent from. One notable change was the creation of the frozen wasteland of Iceberg. No longer the lustrous farmland that was home to Diabolos, it was now a primitive country of people struggling to survive. This made Diabolos fear more. What happened to his country? Where was Arianna? Was she okay? Alive? Dead? What happened!? Unable to find answers to his questions, the emotion-filled Diabolos ventured off deep within the country, all the way to its most northern prominence where his old castle was intended to be located. The endless blizzard of Arianna was beginning to kick in, but no where near the level it would be hundreds of years later; thus, the journey for Diabolos was rigorous but not impossible.
Upon arriving, Diabolos could not believe what he saw: there, his home, his castle, his manor...was frozen solid. From the snow-covered ice that he tread upon to the bridge leading to the door, up until the very tip of the entire castle was ice sealing it, shielding it, encasing it. It was entombed. Pushing his way past the frozen door through sheer force, Diabolos made his way down the long hallway that lead into his castle, seeing only his reflection for the first time in many years. He noticed changes... he had grown older. This made him question exactly how much time had passed. Obviously he was not an old man, but signs of age were on him with facial hair, a much more muscular body and...scales? He could not believe what he saw, but throughout his body were splotches of black scales that appeared to be manifesting at random. Not a single thing made sense for the Diabolos, he at long last made his way to the room in which his wife, Arianna, had been weeping for centuries.
Startled by the sudden movement and presence, Arianna was alarmed and filled with fear, but once the two realized who the other was, they shared passion and love stronger than either had ever felt in the last hundred years or so. After their very long and passionate moment had passed, the two made their best attempt to catch up to each in regards to what happened after the demise. Diabolos died, Arianna died, both were reincarnated. Arianna came here and killed their son and everyone else, before weeping for she knew not how long. Diabolos was reincarnated and trained for an unknown amount of time before coming here to save Arianna.
What neither of them anticipated initially was that their lover was, in fact, alive, at least more alive than the corpses that they had become. Thus the shock and relief that the two of them were able to see and feel each other was all the more real and psychologically relieving to the both of them, for each had experienced a Hellish time. Arianna coped with the suffering and loss of her husband, her child, and her home for who knows how long, while the mighty Diabolos was drowned in his own power and nearly forgot about everything that he loved. Most importantly his wife. Each side made no hesitation in explaining the events that occurred following their demise, and even the forgetful Diabolos did not lie about himself nearly abandoning his wife. Of course she was not upset with him the last bit; he had come for her, and that was all that mattered.
Though they were together once more and knew what had happened to the other, one grand issue still remained between the two: what should they do next? She was an angel, and he was a demon; the kiss that they reunited with broke even the most ancient of laws, and would mean certain doom for the both of them it, yet instead of reacting with fear, they reacted with more love. And thus, after catching up to what the other had been doing since the moments of their demise, very shortly new life was born: a Nephalem. Arianna once again gave in to the temptation of having a child, and naturally Diabolos was unable to refuse her. Yet the two had no idea what the magnitude of their sins were; it was as if they were children committing crimes that they had no idea existed. They had gotten away with it, but only by the faintest sliver of luck, and over time they would mature to make sure that their pact-breaking and law-destroying was committed with flawless technique and the utmost of secrecy. However, their first Nephalem child was a reckless move, and they were unaware about what this had done to their fates. For after the first Nephalem, there would come an endless spiral of more and more until the day Arianna and Diabolos perished.
Naturally Arianna cared dearly for their first child, and Diabolos held within the same aspects. The two were ignorant in just how powerful a Nephalem was capable of becoming, and they were also ignorant to the fact that there exists an involuntary and insatiable desire within a Nephalem upon reaching a certain age to seek out their parents and kill them in order to ascend within their power level to the state of a "True" Nephalem. The age in which this instinct is bequeathed upon the creature is entirely random and unknown, and not even the intricate studies of the species conducted in later years by Diabolos would hope to solve the mystery. Regardless, that day came at a very young age for the first Nephalem to be born under the two; without any other choice, else let his wife die a second time, Diabolos was forced to murder their first child in front of his wife's eyes. Though it was not murder, the magnitude and strength difference between the Black Devil that had been training for years rigorously and the infant Nephalem was that of heaven and earth--perhaps even further.
In spite of the horror that shocked and nearly traumatized Arianna--unaware that Diabolos meant to protect her from once again perishing at the fate of her own child--another one was born. Unable to learn from their mistakes of the first time, as they had no idea they were even making one, the fate of this second child had resulted just in the first. Rather this time it occurred in later years, about the age of seventeen for it. Over the course of its years the Nephalem's power experienced an exponential growth--a trait within all Nephalem--and thus the battle between it and Diabolos was a very close one. As the White Angel witnessed her husband and lover nearly perish at the hands of her own child, having once seen him murdered, the sight was nearly incomprehensible for her frail mind to experience. Thus, she unwillingly dealt the killing blow. Watching in the utmost terror as her child died beneath her feet, and by her own hand, it would be an understatement to say that she was traumatized. Far from that. The actions of the two thus officially sprang the never ending spiral.
Naturally it would be nearly impossible to track and place the exact position in which Arianna and Diabolos changed from caring, misunderstood parents to pure sadists that wanted nothing more than to see their children perish beneath their feet, but there are several key components as to why. For after the death of their second child, Arianna was not only shocked in herself, but for Diabolos as well. Her husband nearly lost to one of their children; what would happen if they died once more...? As an angel and a demon? This fear was incomprehensible. Naturally the most logical option would be to never have children, but the desire from Arianna's innocence and ignorance always managed to overwhelm the reluctant Diabolos. All she had ever wanted was to see one of her children grow up strong, proudly carry their parents's name, and accept the love of their mother. Unfortunately for her, that would never come from a Nephalem. For no matter how much care she placed within them at birth, childhood, adolescence, or even adulthood, they would come for her life and her husband's.
As a result, the Nephalem would never stop coming. The third tried to kill. The fourth. And the fifth. The sixth. And so on. No matter what the two parents did, their children would come for their lives sooner or later in their lives. And as a result of that, Diabolos forced himself to get stronger and stronger with each passing time. Eventually, he grew to love the thrill and challenge that the Nephalem presented him with. Diabolos had also taught Arianna to fend for herself, eventually she too became insatiable for blood. Eventually their minds and judgment were clouded with the desire for more power, for each Nephalem dead increased their experience and power exponentially; and in between the years it took for the Nephalem to grow up and gain the instinct to murder them, Arianna and Diabolos eventually took to wreaking havoc all across Earthland. Their descent into madness and insanity was hastened by this fact. Soon enough, after many generations, there was no turning back. And eventually, there came the creation of the Obsidian Palace, and the birth of the Icecrown Citadel.
End of Chapter 2
- Chapter 3:
- Chapter 3: The Obsidian Palace and the Icecrown Citadel
The Icecrown Citadel was technically the first to be created, since its creation was far beyond the afterlife of Diabolos and Arianna. Though it was never known as such. It was once their home, but after their death, the tears of Arianna froze over the foyer room which the two had spent many of their evenings together in front of the fireplace. The rest of the Citadel remained thawed for centuries, and that was the lair of both Diabolos and Arianna. Hidden from the rest of the world, forgotten. The main reason for this was no less than a century after Arianna's revival, the King of Iceberg gained his crown and froze the land over, officially dubbing the land as it is known today. Luckily for Arianna, she too also had control over ice, and eventually the place was cursed with a surrounding endless blizzard, so no one could get in, and no one could get out. Save for the two lovers. It was the perfect place for them, hidden from the King of Iceberg's site, and the rest of the world. It's easy to say the the isolation was also a primary factor to hastening the maddening of the birthed Nephalem. The parents were initially loving, yes, but it was all they had. They didn't know anything outside of the walls of Icecrown. To them it was a prison, at least until Arianna and Diabolos took to abandoning their children to the world. Whichever ones survived eventually came for them. And they were ready.
Around the perishing of another one of their children, that is when the Icecrown Citadel was truly born. Realizing that it was far too easy for the Nephalem to traverse, and sometimes they would be far too weak to provide any form of entertainment, Arianna began to devise a plan to separate the strong Nephalem from the weak. The Icecrown Citadel. Freezing over what remained of their home, much to the dismay of Diabolos, Arianna also created her Frozen Throne. And from the spirits of their strongest dead children, the Virtue Knights were created. Utilized as trials for the Nephalem, they separated the strong from the weak; Nephalem that would fall to them would never be worthy for Arianna or Diabolos, and thus not every single Nephalem ever got the opportunity to meet their parents. Taking it a step further, Arianna gained inspiration from the Vulcan creatures found throughout Iceberg, and bred her own Primal Vulcan with a far superior level of intelligence--to the point where they could fluently speak and understand language. And the final step was to give her absolute control of the Citadel, which was more than likely the easiest. She created it, so it was hers to control. And from the birth of the Icecrown Citadel, many Nephalem would find themselves met with hardships before confronting their mother or father, further increasing their hatred for them with the taunting voice burying them in anger through the obstacles.
Taking inspiration from his wife, Diabolos sought out to get his own lair, his own followers, and his own armies. Setting out for the infamous Land of Sin, Diabolos temporarily departed from his wife, but promised he would be back. Reluctant to see her husband go once more, Arianna had faith that he would be back. Hopefully in time for delivery; once more she was pregnant with a Nephalem. Diabolos had no idea the magnitude of the task ahead of him, nor did he realize that with his presence, the very way Sin functioned and the monsters that inhabited it would be shifted and changed forever. Or perhaps until his influence had died down. It is amazing for some to think that just one man, one demon in actuality, could walk into a land that was so ravaged that no person dare trod there and change it the way he did. Establish a military, a base of operations, his own monarchy, and even seven of the most powerful monsters in all of the lands aside from himself. In spite of that, Diabolos did not rule all of the Land of Sin. Rather he had his own followers that were loyal to him out of fear; if they wanted to survive, they would be with him. Or die. Very similar methods to a war chief or a tribe.
The Land of Sin had no kind of monarchy or select ruler. It was survival of the fittest. Monsters in the desecrated landscape had little food, and even more little water. Hard to find any with nothing but volcanic rocks surrounding them. Usually the most ancient monsters were the most powerful, and eventually those beasts could find a way to escape the Land of Sin. If a monster was weak, it was eaten for food with its strength absorbed, or left there to rot for scavengers. In spite of how many were consumed each day, there seemed to be an infinite amount. Now for Diabolos, he had not entered appearing as a demon, no; he looked like an ordinary human. And a human daring to enter the Lands of Sin, to the monsters, was just asking to be murdered and eaten. Thus, they thought of him as easy prey. Unfortunately for them, it was the last prey they had ever hunted; Diabolos had not considered them worthy to be his followers, and butchered them with his still human appearance. He swore to himself he would not reveal his true form until he found his first true follower.
The first of which that Diabolos found was none other than his first Sin Lieutenant: Envy. Before being known as such, Envy had a name, a name that was long discarded and forgotten by Diabolos. Envy proved strong enough to cause the Black Devil unveil himself as such; and the moment that Envy laid eyes on the beast that lurked underneath the human skin, he submitted in defeat without even attempting to fight back. Amused by his behavior, and quite intrigued by his power and skill, Diabolos invited Envy to be the first of many to follow under his guidance. He promised the young demon that by his side, he would become one of the most respected demons in all of the Land of Sin. And perhaps one day the world when the monsters broke free of their prison and took over. Meeting Envy was about a month in to his journey, and even after only a day in, Arianna began to worry for the safety and well being of her husband. She carried another one of his children in solitude. And from that, she decided that some kind of company was in order, so she began to look into revival of spirits... a form of Necromancy.
Following the recruitment of Envy, the Black Devil never let go of his demonic presence--never went back to his human form--until he gained all of his followers and left the Land of Sin. The next Sin Lieutenants that the Black Devil would come across was none other than Sloth and Gluttony. Two colossal demons working together as a hunting pair, a very similar thing that Envy and Diabolos were doing. Gluttony, in the midst of the fight, let go of his demonic shell and showed off his true form and power, to which the Black Devil had never been more impressed. Envy was capable of defeating Sloth, but only because his skill and swiftness outmatched the beast's brute strength. In spite of their defeat, Sloth and Gluttony were both invited to be the next two followers of Diabolos. Now there were four of them.
In the midst of resting surrounded by corpses of inferior beings, a pack of raptor-like demons, Diabolos's followers noticed he did not wield a weapon. Gluttony had his shotguns, Sloth had his axes, and Envy had his pair of swords. Yet the Black Devil was skilled enough to defeat all three of them even if they took him on at once even without a weapon. They inquired if he had one, to which the Black Devil responded with a no, but questioned how they managed to get their hands on such weapons in a landscape. Each had their own stories to tell for them, and apparently they were obtained through some kind of fallen foe. Curious to get his hands on some kind of weapon, Diabolos began to ponder the fact. Luckily for him, Gluttony had information that there was a legendary demonic broadsword in a cave to the far corners of Sin. However, it was said to be guarded by a female demon so tempting that no demon has ever ventured out alive; none of them could withstand her and her wrath. Curious by the tale, and perhaps others that plagued the Land of Sin, Diabolos ruled that the four of them would destroy this maiden, and he would take the legendary sword himself.
In the far corners of the sin lay the lair of the Maiden of Lust. Upon converging into the lair, the demons found themselves surrounded in mangled, destroyed, lifeless, decimated corpses that had every last drop of demonic blood and essence sucked out of them; each corpse was hung from the ceiling or a wall and trapped in a spider web. It disturbed the few of them quite immensely, especially considering some of the corpses to the demons were enormous, dozens of meters bigger than them. Though at the same time, they were no bigger than a man, and the smallest among them was Diabolos. The chilling, alluring voice of the Maiden of Lust filled the chasm and ran up their spines as they further went inside. The demons alongside Diabolos were cautious, though not afraid. The Black Devil, on the other hand, perhaps one of the most enthralled grins spread across his face. Could this demoness perhaps be a true challenge to him? He would very soon find out.
Reaching the end of the Maiden's lair, with her voice guiding them the entire way, telling them to step closer to their demise, to walk out if they do not wish to perish, or to come towards her and embrace absolute paradise in her embrace, Diabolos saw the legendary demonic sword: Ragnarok. A blade forged in the fires of Hell and quenched delicately to make it completely invincible, decorated with demonic flesh to threaten its enemies, and large enough to cut a mortal in half with one swing. If one had the strength wield it. The weak could never hope to wield a blade, and even the strong would find it impractical. It would take one that the blade accepted as its master to grip the blade. Reaching for the blade's hilt, Diabolos heard the words of the siren all around him; into his ear, up his spine, and in his mind:
"Are you worthy to wield the blade?"
Diabolos, with the utmost confidence in his power and abilities, did not even respond with words. His hand clasped around the sword Ragnarok, awakening it for the first time in centuries, and drew it up. Ragnarok is a devastating sword that will bring about only pain, destruction, and misery in its wake. The entire reason the blade was forged was to be one in which only the strong could wield so that the weak would never stand the slightest of chances. However, in addition to all of that, Ragnarok held more demonic power and essence than any other sword in existence. Thus, with the demonic excess being released from the sword upon unleashing itself, not only was Diabolos's power exponentially increased beyond that which it had been before, but every last demon that perished in the cave was brought fourth from their eternal death, revived and renewed with greater strength. The Maiden of Lust, hanging up from the ceiling the entire time, gasped in horror as the mysterious dark cave was lit from the red light of Ragnarok, and the demons she killed over the centuries were once again brought to the plane of existence.
Perched upon the pedestal of Ragnarok, the demonic blade awakened in his grasp, Diabolos stared proudly out to his soon-to-be army. Envy, Gluttony, and Sloth all bowed down to their current master. A little confused by their awakening, but recognizing the source and its power, all of the demons from around Diabolos towards the end of the cave bowed to their new master. Diabolos, knowing her position from the start, looked up towards the hanging Maiden of Lust upon the ceiling, to which she descended from on her web, by the side of the other Sin Lieutenants, and knelt down on all of her spider limbs. Raising the blade proudly above his head in triumph, Diabolos called out:
"Demons of Sin! You look upon now to your new King! Your new Ruler! Your new Master! Your new General! I am Diabolos the Black Devil, and under me, we shall create the greatest monarchy Sin has ever known!"
Knowing that none could stand up to him, the Demons roared, cheered, and stomped chanting Diabolos's name. The next step for Diabolos, now that he had four of his Seven Sin Lieutenants, was to gather the other three that he deemed worthy, and construct his Obsidian Palace.
The Obsidian Palace is quite a wonder of Ishval, though not recognized by common folk. Primarily because any human or being that is not a demon that ventures in does not come out. Diabolos had chosen Sin's largest volcano as a hub for his obsidian palace, and the fact that the demons were required to make a palace within one entirely out of obsidian seemed absurd, but they followed their leader anyways. They were quite skeptical as well, for obsidian could be very easily broken, and would not serve too well as a fortress of operations for demons. Though Diabolos surprised both him, and his army, and would have surprised the rest of the world if they witness what he was capable of doing. Diabolos was the first and only being to construct what he called "True Obsidian". Not many know exactly how he did it, or knew if its existence or capabilities, but he was able to change he lava into True Obsidian, a material that was nearly invincible and impervious to damage, much more so than known metals and elements. Yet this also raised questions about several things: were there such things as True Iron? True steel? True Air? True Water? Diabolos knew they existed, but did not know how to unlock them. Regardless, he was the pioneer and discoverer of what had made divines so powerful: the power of truth. And if he could share the Truth with the rest of his military, they would become unstoppable.
After the formation of True Obsidian, the Obsidian Palace was constructed in short months for its initial design, but over the course of several hundred years, would expand to cover an entire underground network within Sin, and serve as the most dangerous hub of military operations under demonic control on Earthland, and a palace to what would become the mortal realm's most powerful Devil. Diabolos the Black Devil.
End of Chapter 3
Face Claim: (What is the face claim you are using. Name and anime)
Last edited by Decayuss on 30th June 2016, 5:31 pm; edited 4 times in total