A Mix Of Worlds

I - A Heart of Ice

I - A Heart of Ice

"It was never fair that angels should bless humanity," said the old man, "yet not feel the cruelty of the world beneath them."

He looked up at the sky above him. A clear blue sky, free of the horrors that stared at it from below. He turned to face the demons, each uglier than the other.

"I want the angels to see themselves stripped of their holiness and righteousness. They should see what we see," he added. "A world full of death and decay."

The crowd hissed in agreement.

He turned to the glowing mirror in the middle of the cavern and pressed a hand against it. Darkness poured from his fingertips and swirled around the mirror before being sucked in.

Raucous laughs echoed from the crowd as they gathered around the podium, each of them pushing through to have the honour of imbuing the mirror with evil. No longer would the mirror reflect what was true. All evil would appear pure, and all that was worthless would seem valuable.

When the surface of the mirror no longer shone, the old man picked it up and called for the nearest demons to help him. They crowded around him, bickering and pushing until each of them had a hand on the mirror. Then they ascended into the sky.

A wraith-like demon was particularly rowdy. It pushed others that hindered its way to the middle, barking curses at those who refused to move. One by one, the demons parted to let the wraith through, letting go of the mirror. Then it bit the old man, and the mirror slipped from his grasp. The other demons bickered, none of them noticing the falling mirror.

The old man shot down like an arrow and tried to catch it before-

"So close... We were this close, and you ruined our chance for revenge!" The old man flew back up to face the spirit responsible, his body shaking as they hovered in the sky.

The spirit shook its head, trembling at the old man's wrath.

"A curse on you, you fool. From now on," he hissed, jabbing his finger at the spirit, " you will be an immortal in a mortal's body. You will feel agony when they die, and it will only be relieved once you find your next host." He laughed gleefully as the spirit pleaded for mercy. "The only way to break this curse is to make your host's soul reflect yours. Make them commit an act of evil. And when your five hundredth host reaches adulthood and keeps their innocence intact, you die. You will not return to Hell. You will be trapped in limbo - forever."

The spirit shrieked as its body formed, its cries like music to the old man's ears. "I think we'll call you... Snow," he decided, snapping his fingers and sending the spirit into the human world.

His plans for heaven were ruined. But there would be no hope for the human world. As soon as the splinters of the mirror touched a human...

"Humanity will never be the same."

The devil in him smiled.