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SM/DC Chapter 15 : Shadows in Limbo.
🕑 Added 2025-01-30 19:32:51 +0000 UTCArthur stumbled forward, his boots scraping against the jagged, cracked ground beneath him. The air felt thick, almost suffocating, like it was pressing against his chest with every breath he took. A strange, pale fog blanketed everything, but it wasn’t like any fog he’d seen before it shimmered, rippling as if alive, and carried faint whispers. Shadows stretched unnaturally, curling and twisting, even though there was no discernible light source to cast them.
“What the fuck…” Arthur muttered, his voice trailing off as he took in the eerie landscape. The sky or what passed for a sky was a churning mess of gray and black, with faint streaks of red bleeding through, like wounds in a living canvas. In the distance, there were towering, crumbling structures that seemed to defy logic, spiraling upward and sideways. The land itself was barren but alive, pulsing faintly beneath his feet, like a giant, breathing entity.
He spun around to face Constantine, his brow furrowed in confusion. “Where the fuck are we?”
Constantine, standing a few paces ahead, lit a cigarette with a casual flick of his lighter, seemingly unfazed by the nightmarish surroundings. He took a long drag, exhaling smoke that curled unnaturally in the air before dissipating into the mist. “Limbo,” he said nonchalantly. “Or, if you’re feeling poetic, purgatory. A cozy little realm sandwiched between the living and the dead.”
Arthur blinked, trying to process the words. “Purgatory? You brought me to purgatory?”
Constantine smirked, clearly enjoying Arthur’s bewilderment. “Relax, mate. It’s not like I dragged you into hell… though, I’ve got a punch card for that one too.” He waved his hand dismissively. “Limbo’s where the souls linger. The ones who didn’t quite make the cut for heaven or hell. It’s… complicated.”
Arthur stared at him, still trying to wrap his head around it. He opened his mouth to ask another question but decided against it. Instead, after a moment of silence, he asked, “Aren’t you part of the Justice League or something?”
Constantine froze mid-drag, then burst out laughing, the sound sharp and dry like gravel. “Me? Part of the Justice League? Bloody hell, no.” He shook his head, his grin wide. “I don’t exactly do the bidding of that Bat. And between you and me, I’d rather stay away from him. The bloke’s good at what he does, sure, but he’s dull as a brick. Always brooding, always calculating. Not my kind of company.”
“Occasionally, I do” Constantine corrected, wagging a finger. “We work together occasionally. I’m freelance, mate. They call me when things go belly-up with demons or ghosts or whatever supernatural mess they can’t handle. I don’t go looking for hero gigs. It’s bad for my image.”
Arthur sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Alright, fine. So, what are we doing here, then?”
Constantine smirked again, tapping ash off his cigarette. “We? No, no, mate. You’re here because I’m doing my apprentice a favor.”
Arthur raised an eyebrow. “So this was Raven’s Idea, and she’s your apprentice?”
“Bingo mate, she called in a debt,” Constantine said with a shrug, his tone casual, but there was a flicker of something in his eyes something that hinted it wasn’t as simple as he made it sound. “And it cost me more than a pint to pull this off, so you’d better make it worth my while.”
Before Arthur could respond, something else caught his attention. In the distance, shadows began to move, no, not shadows, figures. Wandering, aimless figures, shuffling slowly across the barren landscape. Their shapes were distorted, their features blurred like half-forgotten memories. Some seemed to whisper incoherently, their voices merging with the ambient noise of the fog.
Constantine glanced at the figures, then back at Arthur. “Ah, the locals. Souls. Lost, confused, and stuck here until something or someone sets them free.”
Arthur’s grip tightened on the hilt of his greatsword. The whispers grew louder as more of the wandering souls appeared, their movements erratic, almost desperate. Then, as suddenly as they appeared, the whispers ceased, and Arthur realized Constantine was no longer beside him.
“John?” Arthur called out, spinning around, his heart pounding.
As Arthur stood in the eerie silence of Limbo, the air suddenly grew colder, and a distant voice echoed through the void. It was barely a whisper at first, like a cold wind passing by, but it quickly gained strength, a haunting presence drawing closer.
"You’re a killer," the voice hissed.
Arthur tensed, looking around, but there was nothing but shadows and empty space. A silhouette began to take shape, slowly manifesting into a figure before him. The figure was a man tattered clothes, skin pale as ash, eyes hollow and filled with rage. He looked more like a specter, but his presence was undeniable.
"I was a man once," the ghost rasped, his voice ragged with anger. "A desperate man forced into choices I didn’t want to make. But I did them. I killed. I stole. And now I’m here, wandering in this forsaken place."
The ghost’s hollow gaze fixed on Arthur, and he stepped closer, his footsteps silent but heavy with judgment.
"And you" the ghost pointed accusingly, his voice rising with fury. "You have blood on your hands too. I can see it. Every soul you snuff out weighs heavier on you than you realize. Don’t you feel it?"
Arthur stood still, his eyes hardening as the ghost continued, his words like daggers.
"I didn’t want to do it, but I had to! I did what I could to survive!" The ghost’s voice cracked with emotion. "But in the end, I paid the price, didn’t I? And now, so will you."
A sudden laugh rang through Arthur’s mind, dark and gritty a voice that only he could hear.
Constantine’s voice echoed inside his head. "You’ve got power, mate. Enough to play hero, enough to kill a man with a flick of your wrist. But every soul you snuff out has got weight—and their story doesn’t just vanish when they’re dead. Look at him. Look at the life you ended. Can you carry that?"
Arthur’s grip tightened on his greatsword, and the ghost’s words hit harder than he expected. 'You have no idea about me or my power John.’ Arthur thought to himself.
The ghost snarled, his form flickering as if the energy of his anger was unstable. "You think you’re above this? You think you’re different from me? You have a curse a power that will take you down the same path I walked. You’ll end up just like me, damned and lost."
Arthur’s breath quickened, and he felt the weight of the ghost’s words. This wasn’t just some random spirit it was a reflection of what could become of him if he wasn’t careful. But before he could speak, Constantine’s voice cut through again, more distant this time.
"You’ve got a gift, kid, but gifts like that? They’re bloody curses if you’re not careful," Constantine warned, his words cold and matter-of-fact. "You think the world cares if you meant to kill someone or not? Intentions don’t mean squat when there’s a body in the ground and a soul wandering down here."
Arthur clenched his jaw, narrowing his eyes at the specter before him.
Arthur's gaze remained steady as the ghost before him disintegrated, his form fading into the endless mist of Limbo. The eerie quiet of the place hung heavy in the air, broken only by the faint whisper of souls passing by. But then, a sharp, metallic sound echoed in his mind a familiar ping that pulled his attention away from the dim landscape.
[System Notification: Quest Activated!]
Hostile entities are actively seeking to harm you. Kill the 10 demons attempting to collect wandering souls. They are a threat to your existence in this realm.
Arthur smirked to himself, never breaking stride as he walked further into the gloom of Limbo. "Are they mistaking me for one of the souls they collect here ?" he muttered under his breath. His smile widened as he looked ahead, his mind already calculating his next move. "This is fine by me," he said aloud, the words tasting like a challenge. "I was wondering who I should make my first shadow soldiers."
His eyes gleamed with a growing excitement as the thought solidified. The demons hunting souls were the perfect candidates to start his army. "I’ll kill them," Arthur muttered, his eyes now burning with determination. "Then, I’ll make them my eternal loyal soldiers."
