Deep down in the ground, lay a place hidden from all. Obscured by nature and unholy magic.
Hallways upon hallways filled it, illuminated only by torches. Monstrous figures roam these halls, some contorted, some had far too many eyes, and teeth, and others had...No, no words could describe them and their grotesque beauty.
There was a gate at the end of these halls, past the monstrous beings, and past the rooms where screams of agony rang out, past the pulsating flesh that made up the walls and ceilings.
Past all of that, was a gate guarded by two gigantic crystal statues, humanoid in shapes and looks, faces blank and wielding a halberd. Their skins were slightly transparent, veins and organs visible for the eyes to see.
Their heads turned to face someone who was approaching.
Four pitch-black eyes, mish-mashed scales, and carapaces covered them from head to toe. They were hunched over, they had four arms, two of which had clawed hands, and the other had sickles in place of hands.
The figure stopped before the statues and opened their mouth. In a raspy, inhuman voice, they said, "I come to deliver my reports for the Eldest One."
The statues stare at the figure, faces still blank and unmoving. Then a voice boomed out from behind the gate.
"Let her in."
With that, the statues snapped back their head to their original positions as they opened the gate for the figure.
She hurried through the gates and entered a room where the Eldest One stood hands on railings that circled around a ball of flesh, with fleshy tendrils protruding out of it, connecting to the walls, and ceiling.
The gate closed behind her and she kneeled, facing the ground. She heard footsteps as the Eldest One walked toward her, stopping just mere inches from her.
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"Mammon, my dear sister, why are you kneeling?" He questioned, a slight puzzlement in his voice. "
Mammon swallowed thickly and turned her head up, yellow eyes staring back at her.
"Because I have failed you, brother."
The Eldest One paused.
She was unable to read the Eldest One's expression for his face was hidden behind the skull of a ram, head tilted as yellow eyes stared straight into her soul. A tense silence shrouded the two, shivers went down her spine as she awaited her inevitable punishment.
"...In what way have you failed, Mammon?"
"I have failed to locate where Belphegor is hiding, nor have I determined what was the cause of the recent...disturbances that had occurred."
"But you have gotten hints and clues as to the reasons for the recent disturbances, and most importantly where Belphegor is hiding, correctly?"
"Yes."
The Eldest One relaxed, before chuckling to himself and pulling her up into a standing position.
"My dear sister, you have failed, in fact, you have done your task perfectly."
"I-I have?"
This only caused the Eldest One to go from chuckling to throwing his head up and erupting into full-blown laughter. Mammon just stared, unsure of what she should do.
Calming down, the Eldest One put a hand on her shoulder and said, "Mammon, for you to even find clues and hints shows that you are truly the best among us for this sort of thing. You shouldn't be ashamed of yourself, no, you must be proud of yourself for what you have accomplished.
"In fact, I would even say that Mother would be proud of you. If she was here."
Mammon's mouth was opening and closing, repeatedly, with no words coming out.
The Eldest One then turned around and walked back to the ball of flesh, gazing upon it as it pulsate. A small imp flew down and landed on the Eldest One's shoulder. He whispers something to it.
The imp craned its head toward her, then back at the Eldest One, and nodded before it took off, flapping its thin wings as it goes.
"There will be a reward waiting for you in your dwelling, Mammon."
This made her perk up, having finally found her voice.
"Really?"
The Eldest One nodded.
"After all, as Mother used to say, 'good children get rewarded and bad ones get punished.'"
