RE: Born

This story begins in a world between worlds, a place lost between dimensions where every light has long since been abandoned.
The crimson sky was torn apart by an endless storm of silver lightning. The land, now barren and desolate, was scarred by fiery wounds that released rivers of lava, like venomous serpents flowing between mountains of black rock, their peaks as sharp as knife blades. They towered over the valleys, casting their spectral shadows upon the teeming world below: demons, undead, and monstrosities of every kind had taken control, and chaos reigned supreme.
One place, its very heart, the Corrupted Castle, lay silently dormant, carved into Mount Azdur.
The gateway carved into the black stone was immense, and the statues adorning it told stories of terror and torment.
It was no ordinary castle. It had not been designed to defend mankind, but to worship something ancient and dark.
The throne room was a massive altar situated beneath a circle engraved into the dark stone slabs of the floor. Magical runes had been painted upon them, glowing in response to the words chanted by the hundreds of gathered disciples dressed in their red cloaks.
The castle walls seemed to tremble at their words, spoken in an ancient and sinister language. They told of the coming of a lord from another dimension, destined to be reborn in the world of the living to bring death and destruction.
The High Councillor rose, lifting his hood and revealing his face. He pointed towards the gateway that opened before them. Everything fell silent as the sound of the great doors echoed throughout the room.
A man appeared. He was tall, with a proud and commanding gaze. He began walking slowly towards the centre, accompanied by the sound of chains dragging behind him.
Two enormous demons of monstrous appearance, with goat-like faces and humanoid bodies, were dragging an elven woman whose blonde hair was so long that it touched the ground. It was now dirty and darkened, and her battered body looked as though it had passed through hell itself. Yet her blue eyes still carried the fierce gaze of someone who had not surrendered to her fate.
"Nobody believed you would succeed in this undertaking, and yet here you stand before us, Great Mage Arten."
The High Councillor's voice echoed before his disciples, who watched in disbelief.
The mage bowed slightly before replying:
"As promised, here she is: Eivir, the Elven Heroine of the Bow."
The woman tried to mumble something, but the cloth tied around her mouth prevented her from being heard.
The two demons acted without anyone having given them an order, so much so that even the mage who had summoned them was taken by surprise.
They dragged her towards the altar, binding the maiden's hands and feet. The Councillor stepped forward, approaching the altar. He spoke after raising his hands towards the sky.
"Brothers, the moment has come! Let us invoke the return of the Great Demon King!"
One by one, the disciples began to bow, while the sound of their prayer grew louder and louder.
"We call upon you, O Great Demon King! We offer you the soul and body of this hero, so that you may be reincarnated once more and bring death and destruction to the world of mortals!"
The girl began screaming so loudly that the cloth could no longer muffle her cries.
The circle glowed with an increasingly intense red light. Beams of crimson light appeared sporadically around the altar. A portal opened above her. It was dark, and it was impossible to tell what lay on the other side. Its surface resembled the rippling surface of a pool of water.
A demonic hand, its skin a deep violet, reached through it, grabbing her and driving its great black claws into her flesh.
She tried to resist with all her strength, but in the end, she was dragged inside, amidst her terrified screams.
A body was then expelled from the portal. It belonged to a young boy with dark hair and a ragged cloak draped over his shoulders. He lay unconscious.
One of the disciples stepped closer and, looking at the crowd, exclaimed:
"Impossible! We must have made a mistake. He isn't the chosen one!"
Panic erupted throughout the room. The younger disciples stepped back, while the older ones tried to understand what had happened.
The commotion was interrupted by the Councillor's firm voice:
"Silence! There can be no doubt. He is the creature destined to become the Great Demon King."
The disciple stepped forward.
"How can that be?"
But the answer soon revealed itself before their eyes: another portal had opened beneath the boy. Violet chains seemed to have seized him, slowly dragging him down into the depths.
"The portal has opened for him. This is the proof. This is the law of the Great Demon God."
The Councillor had barely finished speaking when the castle seemed to tremble. Hundreds of undead and demons appeared all around them, and every one of them bowed before the Councillor.
"Rejoice, brothers! This is the day of his coming!"
The chains dragged the boy into the darkness. He fell into a cold unlike anything he had ever experienced before, travelling through the dimensions.