mothspit
ɖɛʍօռ ȶօ ֆօʍɛ, ǟռɢɛʟ ȶօ օȶɦɛʀֆ
Warning: 21+ only. Contains violence, gore, and other adult themes.
Welcome back prisoner. You've made it past the preliminary screening process and have been officially selected to be apart of this expedition whether you like it or not. Please take a seat and listen to the historical retelling of this projects noble effort, presented by Captain Abernathy, who will guide you to victory and freedom* in the coming months.
*Reduced sentencing not guaranteed, conditions may apply upon a formal return review.
*Reduced sentencing not guaranteed, conditions may apply upon a formal return review.
"You want me to read this thing? Alright. Ahem. You know how the story goes..."
"Nobody knew what caused the portal to open. Hell, we still don't. In the first few days, everything just sort of continued business as usual. Most people assumed it was fake, or apart of some elaborate government coverup. Nothing that could be proven. But as time went on, and little answers trickled from the mouths of the worlds elected leaders, tensions began to escalate. What little calls for logic and reason existed were quickly drowned out by a resurgence of religious extremism across the world. When Emperion first arrived on the scene, they were by no means popular. A quirky little cult that had barely made headlines in the last century, now emboldened by what was seen as an act from God. Within months, the cult had formed a broad coalition of fearful citizens that demanded answers from government officials, lest they be ousted from their seats of power by force. Fearing the worst, world governments agreed to collaborate and fund an expedition into the portal.
Given institutional legitimacy, the cults religious officials were brought onto the project as advisors and spiritual guides. The portal, they argued, was really some sort of puncture in the firmament of Heaven, and traversing it would lead them to salvation. They had no way of knowing this for sure, and so future expeditions and widespread migration efforts were only guaranteed if the first proved successful. For the next few years, the worlds leading scientific minds worked to create a vessel that could withstand the speculative conditions inside, at the behest of the cults specifications. The result? An armored ship capable of housing just a handful of chosen soldiers for a long haul mission. There was no telling if and when they'd be coming back, so it was outfitted much like a camper, with all the artillery of a small militia. Armor and weapons that gave off the impression of an invading army, as opposed to peasants hands upturned to God. For traversing small distances, each soldier was given a specialized motorbike that could be independently deployed from the vehicle. This unit, chosen for their bravery--"
The man pauses, stifling a laugh before clearing his throat and continuing, "--were dubbed 'The Clergy.' I guess that means you've got some big shoes to fill, huh?
Within minutes of the ship crossing the boundary, all communication was lost. To prevent widespread panic, the cult and the government claimed the ship crashed on impact, and the agonizing churn of capitalism continued. Three days after the Clergy goes silent, the first demon sighting is reported. Of course, nobody knows what they really are-- The name 'demon' just sort of stuck for convenience sake, but within days they were everywhere. Wandering onto properties, into homes and businesses, just... watching. That was it. Like they were learning from us. They were never hostile, never inconvenient. They never even spoke a word; We weren't sure if they could understand us. Now, we know they chose not to reply. A year after their arrival, the silence was finally broken when a demon was found dead in the home of a cult member. As if mourning one of their own, demons all across the world joined in a collective display of grief, howling like creatures of myth. The sound was capable of bursting the eardrums of anyone within earshot. The death toll worldwide is estimated to be just over 1.2 billion. The event has been referred to as 'Lorde's Day' by historians, and signifies the beginning of a tentative alliance between demons and humans, fearing either retaliation or wholesale slaughter from either group.
That was years ago. Today, humans and demons live together as two occupying species, but many questions remained unanswered. What we've learned from them has brought about a new era of technological greatness not seen since the industrial revolution. As the anniversary for the missing Clergy expedition nears, the world government has approved a second expedition to investigate the circumstances of the first, this time with the help of demon representatives. It took some time to decipher their language, but doing so revealed a well of knowledge about their home. Needless to say, it wasn't Heaven beyond the portal. This plane of existence, roughly translated to the Hypogeal by demon linguists, is plunged in an eternal darkness. The beings inside have adapted to see in wavelengths of light imperceptible to the human eye, and travel from region to region using a type of interdimensional highway. This highway was so vast, they reasoned, without help from a demon guide, its possible the Clergy are still stuck traversing it, blindly experiencing the Hypogeal pass them by like passengers of a train car. That meant it was possible to lead them back out."
You hear the crumpling of paper, followed by an unceremonious grunt.
"The esteemed members of this mission are you, societies rejects. We'd say thank you for your sacrifice, but it's not like you have a choice. Before you get mad at me, I didn't put you in that seat. The suits upstairs thought it'd be great for the bottom line to give me a bunch of no-names mooching off the government for soldiers in case things go to shit. I ain't happy 'bout it either. You'll be outfitted with gear necessary for the journey and for your protection once we're inside. Your visors should let you see in the dark, but that technology is expensive, so if you break it, you're fucked. We find what happened to them, and report back anything significant. Now, let me get some information from you..."
