A light within the heart of darkness

”Do you just chase anything that’s vaguely ominous and evil?” Christian groaned, idly flicking his thumb over the touchscreen of his phone. That bored look Cas noted when young humans of this world went to attend to their odd cellular devices. A shame most were not as attentive to what was important, but perhaps he could blame their culture for that much. Having Chris around did make understanding things a little easier, if only because he was from this realm.

”Yes, it is my duty to protect humanity from whatever terrors might threaten it. Otherwise I wouldn’t be a very good champion.” Cas responded, looking up to the sky which was dark. A typical experience for the planet Earth but not at 1 in the afternoon, with no projected blockages of the sun anyhow. With eyes narrowed upon the sky, his eyes glowed a calming gold as if trying to pierce some veil. This darkness was no illusion, genuine as far as he could tell and that meant someone was mucking with nature itself. Foul magics as his father would have said, and not something to be allowed to continue like this.

”So long as you don’t go on all righteous about saving them and being all saccharine.” Christian continued, looking at him with a single arced brow.

”I don’t do that...do I do that?” He began, and then quickly shifted to asking as if that offended his friend somehow. Only prompting a roll of the eyes, as usual response from him.

”Only when confronted with evil things however that cetagorizes with you.” A few people gave them a sideways glance, but no one really thought anything of them. Cas dressed in a pair of camo cargo pants, and a muscle shirt which only really showed what many would consider a well toned physique, glowing golden eyes being the only real standout feature. That might have been why they were staring, more concerned about the possible metahuman among them more than anything else. Always so uncomfortable around things they couldn’t understand or control. A shame when he thought bout it, but apparently it was the way of the world.

”Some of my contacts in the supernatural side of things believe it has something to do with a haunted house nearby, a portal to the underworld some say. Under the rule of The Raven they say.” He explained, waving his hand along with the information.

”Haunted house? As in with apparitions or the hell portal you spoke of?” He asked curiously as they rounded a curve, large foreboding construct of wood and various materials coming into view. Its exterior looked worn down, facade cracked from the years of wear.

”Wonder why no one’s torn down this dump yet...oh because mysterious accidents. Makes a bunch of sense.” He started and then amended, pocketing his phone and then keeping eye contact with the building itself. Considering it with that magical sense that he carried about with him, one likely far more attuned than Cas’ was though he could see the sickly aura around the place.

Burying his hands into his pockets, Cas approached the door with each step making a few creaks. Stepping through tape that had condemned the building long ago, the smell of dust and decay stronger as he approached.

Savannah, Georgia was a rather mystical place. Even just walking downtown made that fact quite apparent. The town had a history of cults, strange happenings, and hauntings. Naturally, Ren was intrigued by such a place, especially when something out of the ordinary even for Savvanah's standards happened.

As the young man made his way into town, an eerie darkness followed. It moved at the same pace as Ren did, a permanent mark of what he apparently was now. The teen didn't mind though, he always enjoyed the night. Now, he got to be in it all the time. Granted, it caused a little upheaval wherever he went, but it's not like anyone knew he was rhe one causing it.

Of course the civilians in the city were a little spooked by the sudden change in lighting, but for the most part life just went on as it normally would have, plus a few more lights. It really was harmless. Still, the town's people were blaiming it on all manner of things, from a demonic uprising to global warming. Little did they know, this phenomenon was the least of their worries.

An entrance to hell, one of many around the world, was due to open. A single doorway to the realm only opened once every three hundred years or so, without some help from a powerful demon. Still, there were so many of them around that it seemed once a month another one was due. This one, though, was special.

A house now sat where the opening was. Strange happenings were common in the building, but nobody knew quite the extent of it's supernatural significance. Some say the cult of the Raven was founded there, others claim mass murder, and a few even whisper of it being the site where Satan himself fell to Earth.

Ridiculous, to be certain. But, Ren couldn't deny the fact it was a bit if an important entrance, and he knew sealing it before it could fully open was top priority. So, that's why he was in Savannah, and that's why he was making his way through the dark residential streets to this famous haunted house.

Of course, someone had beat him to it. A pair of teenagers, no older then him. No doubt they were looking for some thrills. Maybe they'd drink some booze or smoke some pot while telling scary stories, but this was no place for a slumber party.

Not tonight.

Ren just watched, his eyes backlit with a faint luminosity. He could see in the dark better then anyone could in the day. He didn't want to jump out there and tell those kids they couldn't be there because of a hell gate opening, that would only make them want to stay even more. No, he had to observe for now. Maybe he could even scare them out before shit hit the fan.

”just don’t kick the front door in this time.” Christian added in, waiting for him to actually do something that involved stepping into the building. Drawing a somewhat embarrassed aversion of the eyes, as Cas extended his hand and then quickly withdrew it with the sound of flesh hissing. Changing that into a twisted grimace of pain, tanned flesh coming back red and irritated, much to his annoyance as he glared at the odd material that seemed to vex him within this modern world. Not so much a problem with Christian, who grabbed the knob and gave it a hard twist, and pushing forward to open it. Creaking open into the  ill lit interior, small clouds of dust rolling over them as if the place had not been disturbed for a while.

Drawing a sneeze from Christian who then glared at the house as if it had committed some manner of unforgivable sin. ”Okay there Chris?” he asked with a single raised brow, tone carrying that sweet genuineness that that came with speaking with the male. ”Okay, I get what that look is.” Small gesture of surrender, wilting under the intense glare as he stepped through into the house. True sight and medium-ship alike made the spirits hovering over them like a miasma visible, the veil between life and death as Cas’ friend had come to call it. Souls not ready to move beyond the now, some too attached to their lives to really let go. Their inaudible moans paused as they turned upon Casmaudius, seeing him for what he was and hungering for that.

Cold, ephemeral fingers that sent cold shivers through the young god and caused the hairs to stand up on end. A sheen of light forming over his skin after the first few touches, causing the phantoms of screech in agony and recoil back into the shifting mist that hovered on the ceiling. A thing unseen by mortal eyes, but they were far from mortal.

Whispers among them persisted, hissing voice cursing  an entity called The Raven and his priests. Dialects and accents mashing together until it became something Cas could barely even understand, just looking to the formation with silent curiosity. Something had happened to cause them to be lost, and that was what he wanted to find out. Stepping further beyond the threshold, each step creating an echoing creak into the darkness. Crystalline chandelier above jingling in an unknown breeze, unheard from beyond the cries of spirits.

Ren circled the house, making sure to stay out of sight the entire time. He was debating on how to get these kids out of there. They had literally minutes before God knows what started showing up. The last thing Ren wanted was a couple of dead teenagers to deal with. So, first on the agenda was getting to a good position to start working some magic.

He climbed up onto the house once the other guys were inside, his converse nearly slipping a few times, but he managed none the less. Once at a second story window, he opened it and crawled inside. The house was a mess of old stuff, cobwebs, and creepiness.

Just how Ren liked it.

Now that he was on the grounds, Ren started whispering half forgotten chants to himself he read in a book somewhere. Soon after, little things in the house began to act up. At first he figured he was saying it wrong, as nothing really major happened for a minute or two. However, after awhile, the lights began to flicker. Everyone knew the electric was off in this house, so it was an odd occurrence indeed. Not only that, but the ground began to vibrate.

As if there were a localized earthquake, the home began to shake. Items fell, doors and cabinets opened and slammed again, and glass burst into hundreds of pieces. To top it all off, a light chill enveloped the area, and hooded figures would become prevalent in the shadows.

All of this stuff wasn't due the the house's apparant haunting, but due to a simple spell Ren had cast. He just hoped the kids took the hint and got out of there, otherwise he might have to drag them out himself.

Christian gave a half interested expression to Cas as he flexed his divinity, that odd energy that empowered him in ways few others were. The ghosts proved unable to touch him once that was done, recoiling and wailing at him from a distance. Those deathly moaning irritating him more than Cas, who looked up to the spirits with this look that could break ones heart. Feeling sorry for the suffering, it was nothing that was new to the male but then again it did make the wrathful deity part difficult. Lights beginning to flicker, though that meant nothing to the young god but Christian had a better idea about things.

The air had begun to chill, causing hairs to rise along skin and Cas furrowing his brows, eyes glowing a brighter gold. A localized earthquake followed that, shattering glass and things falling down onto the floor. Breaking and pinging along the creaking floorboards, drawing a hum from the god. ”I believe that we have angered whatever is here. Might have to deal with it sooner then.” He muttered with a hum, stroking his chin and looking around the room for the source. Whether that be the spirits or something else entirely. Energy crackled under his flesh, small sparks leaping off of his skin and disappearing into the open air.

”Might be something in the basement. Places like this tend to have weird stuff happening down there.” Christian suggested,  He was the first one to see the hodded figures, though Cas acted as if they weren’t there. Looking around the room until he came about a door, opening it with no issue and being lead to a stairway that would lead downward into something.

A basement likely. "Think you might be right."

"Dammit! Stubborn kids....." Ren said to himself when he didn't hear them leave. In fact, they seemed to be going further into the house. That wasn't basic scary stuff either. Most normal people would be halfway down the road by now. So, A, they weren't normal, or B, they were lunatics with a death wish. Either seemed equally likely to Ren, so he was going to make sure he didn't come off as hostile to these guys.

The male made his way down stairs, wood audibly creaking as he did. He made no attempt to conceal his movements at this point. If an earth quake and shadowy grim reaper figures didn't scare the pants off these guys, then that course of action was fruitless. Ren figured he was much better off just going down there to tell them what was up.

The male sauntered down, dressed from head to toe in a black suit. It wasn't really a high end suit, more like the ones you would see the band members of My Chemical Romance wearing. He wouldn't be caught dead in anything that made him look like a snotty businessman, after all.

Once on ground level, Ren found the pair of guys nowhere to be seen. He did, however, hear them. They were in the next room, opening a door. Ren could guess they might be going to the basement, but that wasn't really a sure thing. There was only one way to find out for sure, and at this point Ren was quite sure they were aware of his presence.

Ren rounded the corner, making sure to be cautious. He didn't want to take a pipe to the head from an overly jumpy teenager. Once in the same room as the others, Ren stared at them a moment, letting it all sink in. He found silence often said more then words, so just standing there, showing himself, was probably better then going into some rant about ghosts and why he was here.

"So, uh, here for the ghosts too?" Was all Ren said, unwrapping a mint produced from his jacket, then tossing it into his mouth. He smiled, the same awkward silence taking the area again. Ren didn't speak unless he had to, and that was very apparent right at that moment.

Flooring gave out a loud groaning squeak when stepped on, making stealth itself nearly impossible for those seeking it. Cad did not really consider the sound, humming softly to himself as they descended into the steady darkness of the basement. ”Cas, not wanting to sound like i’m complaining but I can’t see.” He noted with a frown, something only the young god could see in the basement which lacked all manner of lighting. Young god giving a snap of the fingers as bright golden flames materialized and in their wake came a small hand held lamp. Offering the device to Christian, who took it and twisted the knob that caused artificial light to manifest through the stairway. It lit their path ahead, leading to the beginnings of the dank looking basement below.

That was when the voice spoke, human and not whisp-like as the ghosts that had hovered above them like a fine mist. ”Something like that.” Cas admitted while his younger friend simply just glared at this new person with an expression that showed he did not trust them at all. Something that he could appreciate. ”Thought theis home would have something worse going on keeping all these spirits in thrall so...I came to check it out.” Despite the taking time to talk, he had been walking downwards as they reached the basement where an even darker sensation could be felt.

The bright light that was now washing over the room fell upon something. A massive sinkhole within the room, dominating a corner where wisps of corporeal shadows belched from with the scent of brimstone. ”Well, think we found the source of your ghost problem anyway.”

A curious half smile briefly appeared on Ren's face. The two teenagers were not what he had expected. These weren't your average high schoolers from the sound of it, and that could only mean they knew of the things that lay beyond the veil. That, or they were just playing Ghost Hunter and pretending to see things they hadn't. Either way, they weren't leaving, so the best place for Ren to be right now was with them.

"Well, your hunch is correct. On this night there's supposed to be high supernatural activity, maybe even a portal of some kind, if rumors are true...... Which is why I'm here." Ren said, stepping a bit closer to the pair. There wasn't anything remarkable about them, but then again, the same could be said of himself. Besides, of course, his choice of attire. If he were in a room of thirty kids, it was pretty easy to pick him out as the one into dark stuff. Point is, Ren looked a lot less normal then these two.

"Anyway, look, i get the thrill of this. I did it for a long time without anything backing me up, but it quickly got dangerous. If you guys are amateurs, i admire your diligence, but you gotta go...." Ren said, trying one last time to get them out of there. If they were more like him, he didn't really care if they stayed, and in fact would probably want their help, but as it stood they seemed pretty average to the teen.

Before the 'leave to keep yourself safe' conversation could blossom any further, Ren's attention was was drawn to a pit with shadowy properties. The kid that looked at him oddly had pointed it out, citing it as 'your ghost problem.' Funny, considering they were both dealing with said problem now.

"Well, if you're going to stay, then it's our problem, right?" Ren said, clicking his tongue at Christian in a matter of fact way. The male then approached the sinkhole, crouching down to investigate it. Right away, he smelled the tell tale scent of burning brimstone. That could only mean one thing.

"Yup, just what the rumors were saying. We aren't dealing with a bunch of angry ghosts, fellas, this is demonic." Ren said, bringing his hand down to the sinkhole to get a feel of the soil. He rubbed it between his fingers, looking off to the side in thought. It was clear this place was getting more and more aggravated as time went on, but how could they stop it before it got to it's zenith?

The darkly dressed male stated that he was also here for the supernatural disturbance, meaning they weren’t the only ones who had come here to look into things. Christian would have called his choice in clothing emo, but Cas had no reason to judge him. People were allowed to dress as they wanted, even if it was only in swathes of black and red. Much like he preferred the more lively colors, a rather sharp contrast between the two rather apparent.

”The concern is nice but we’re not amateurs. Might be better if you just backed off.” Christian suggested, seemingly brushing him off without a real second glance. ”We’re pretty fine here on our own.” Eyes more following the young deity who had been walking over to the pit and looking down upon it with a curious expression.

This hole gave him familiar chills, shudders through his body and raising hairs along his flesh. ”I’ve dealt with demons before, dangerous things.” Cas noted, as the portal began to fluctuate followed by something rising from the portal and latching fingers around his face. Rising along with it was prior mentioned demon. A creature of black flesh peppered with darker feathers a dark as oil, with a massive beak jutting from the face and bearing overall raven features rising from this mire.

”Oh, so that happened.” A hand rose to grab onto the taloned hand trying to crush his head and channeled the divine lightning through the flesh. Bubbling contorting and splitting from the point and upwards as the thing began to explode outwards, releasing large splatters of black blood. ”Ew, got it in my mouth.” He grumbled spitting a few globs of the demon blood from his mouth.

Ok, then. Pretty boy had powers. Apparently, powers that had a rather brutal effect on demons. In only a moment, Ren saw the expected demon rise from the portal, and then Cas destroy it with a bright energy, or more appropriately, a light. Ren's eyes were wide; he had never seen such a power before. It was pretty clearly not just a meta power either, as even the most powerful of energies wouldn't be able to completely obliterate a demon like that. It seemed that this kid had channeled some sort of holy power.

"That was...... Interesting." Ren said, pulling a handkerchief from his coat. He then began wiping the blood off himself, as the splatter had been quite violent. After he was done, he threw the cloth to the ground, eyes still locked on the portal.

"As impressive as that was, and as confident as i am in your guys' ability to destroy these things, that was only a taste. We're not messing with petty demons. Eventually, something a lot more powerful is going to come through that gate." Ren said, removing a small flask from his coat pocket. He then began tracing a circle around the pit, the flask apparently containing salt, blessed by the looks of it.

"That won't keep the bigger baddies back, but it'll help a bit. We need to find a way to close this thing before it's too late. And for the record, it's not me you're going to want to back off here in a moment." Ren said, readying himself for what came next. He wasn't even sure what his abilities would do to demons, but it was time to find out, he supposed.

”That’s demons for ya. Fill them with a little divine energy and they explode like baloons.” Christian noted with arms crossed over his chest, looking almost unimpressed with what had happened, as if it were a daily occurrence rather than the display of a gods power. Cas however looked as if he had produced a bottle of water, swishing the clear liquid through his mouth and spitting it out, coming in a blackened tinge.

”Stuff always makes me feel like i’m going to vomit.” He grumbled, rubbing his lips with the back of his hand and turning to Christian.

”I have a feeling I know what we’re dealing with. That was a...raven demon or one of the raven variety. Only one demon lord those kind serve under and he’s pretty nasty. Not someone I want to piss off.” He knelt down to examine the line drawn around the portal, looking to be blessed in some capacity. Well that would keep the lesser and even some of the medium demons from coming through, until the higher level ones decided to notice the rift. Not that they could come through without some manner of calamity. ”Might know a few spells that could close this up, but they take...a  little bit.”

He would have begun to enact the ritual but something began to work through the portal. Composed of writhing black tendrils, more liquid than material with a head of gnashing teeth as if the creature were part avian and a wolf, flesh torn and wearing away to reveal maggot infested inside. Christian thrown back a little by Cas pushing him, before stepping back a few steps as well.

“That smell...it smells of the divine.” Saliva dribbled from the maw, hissing as it collided with the concrete and reduced it to slag. Eyes like hellfire itself focused on Cas. “Yeeeeeessss, you will do nicely.” The reverberating voice growled,  massive sharp teeth revealed as it readied to leap with an uncertain writhing body.

The two guys had a little bit of banter back and forth. Judging by the content of the conversation Ren quickly realized that yes, these two knew what they were doing. That was good, too, because Ren's Death Touch had a low effect on things that weren't mortal. Yes, he knew eventually his power would blossom in something that could utterly destroy spirits and the undead, but as of now, it was at it's most basic level—being only an inconvenience to things not of this world. That meant he needed a bit of help.

That wasn't more apparent at any point then when the almost liquid demon entered the house through the portal. It was a true monstrosity, but honestly nothing Ren hadn't seen before. The male stepped forward, attempting to bring his hand into contact with the demon. If he was successful, black energy would surge from him and into the spirit, attacking the very core of it, soul or not.

As was previously stated, this wouldn't destroy the demon, only cause horrible pain the longer contact was held. Ren knew that if he trained with the ability a bit more, he would be ale to do more then that to this thing, but at the time being this is what he had.

While he was in contact with the demon, Ren rattled off a prayer. It was one he had found in an old exorcists book, and had served him well in the past. It not only was designed to remove the demon from a host, but remove the evil spirit from the mortal plane entirely. Again, it probably wouldn't have an instant effect, but this would certainly cause the thing some issues.

"Hit this thing with whatever you have..... If you guys really do know what you're doing, he shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Each motion of the creature came with the sound of its strange mushy sounds, beady eyes peering out from within the amorphous mass all squared upon Cas who less than worried about that small detail. Not as if something as a simple demon would really give him any reason to fear beyond the fact that there was someone here that he likely needed to protect. Humans, despite his positive feelings towards them were weak, beneath the norm that came with the expectation of divinity. The demon let out a few odd gurgling sounds from its throat as the tendrils seemed to shift. Taking on various macabre shapes, a few resembling weapons meant to bludgeon and pierce.

”I’ve got this.” Christian noted with a sigh,  rubbing forefinger and thumb together as he raised a hand to the demon. Black sparks rose from the flesh, bursting into a stream of fire that slammed into the creature with a grand hiss, and pained screech. Liquid flesh hissed, black smoke rising from it and causing the thing to recoil from the hand that was draining strength from it. Each unnatural movement rolling with the strange shape as it attempted to avoid the odd attacks being thrown at it, with the young mage approaching the damaged creature, unphased by the damaged visage. ”Alright big guy, your turn.”

”Okay.” The thing barely had any time to recover as he unleashed a stream of fire, golden in color that consumed him with a grand stream. This seemed to consume the thing, leaving nothing but a few bubbling puddles hissing like heated tar scattered across the floor. The air now filled with an acrid scent, something that caused the eyes to water just from the terrible smell. ”I think it’s time for me to close thing thing.” Cas muttered to himself, approaching he swirling vortex of blackness and  seeming to conjure a weapon from folds within the air itself.

A brilliant blue blade that looked a little too heavy for a normal human of his build but he hefted it with no issue. Pressing the blades tip into the ground, he slid his palm along the edge, drawing glimmering golden blood in a small stream that he splattered around the portal. These droplets of blood  began to glow once a small circle around had been formed, sparking and releasing streams of light that coalesced in the center and with a flash of light the hole itself began to close. ”Always thought that was weird.”

”You’ve already seen this plenty of times to know how this works. Unless those blows to the head are finally getting to you.”

”Whatever,” He rolled his eyes and turned to Ren. ”So, I assume this isn’t your first time dealing with the paranormal stuff.”

Ren just sat back and watched as the situation unfolded around him. His hunch was correct, this demon and apparently this portal was no issue for the pair of teenagers. With their combined ability they seemed to make quick work of the demon, before finally closing the gateway. Ren could only smile. He thought this was going to be a lot harder then it turned out.

""Well then. That was a hoot, wouldn't you agree?" Ren stepped forward, his hands clasped in front of him. Following that, he just sort of looked at the pair of them, wondering what was next. See, he had planned to just go home after this, but the inclusion of these two paradoxes made him a bit too curious just to turn tail. The guy just shot gold lightning from his hands, for God's sake!

"Cool sword by the way......." Ren said, finally breaking the silence with his awkward comment. He wasn't very good with people, after all. He wanted to ask them all about what just happened, but all that came out was weird compliments about a weapon. Finally, though, Christian brought Ren back to a subject he felt comfortable with. Paranormal shit.

"Uh, yeah, not my first time.... Nope, no supernatural virginity here........" The sentence was littered with stuttering and nerves, Ren fidgeting randomly. Apparently even with the subject back in his field, he couldn't quite get over his awkwardness. After his sentence hit the air though, he tried to compose himself, taking a deep breath. He was screaming at himself in his head to stop being a dumbfuck.

"I mean... Yes. This isn't the first portal I've closed, and it's not the first haunted house I've been to. This is a bit of a hobby for me, i guess." Congratulating himself for forming coherent words, Ren's smile finally returned. He was hoping they wouldn't just run off, as he had a lot of questions to ask. Mainly why the motherfucking angel was there.

Cas clutched his fingers tightly, feeling the damaged flesh of his palm would knit back together. The self inflicted injury would close rather quickly, so he seemed to ignore that while removing the blades tip from the ground. He could still feel the corruption within the air, writhing like an imperceptible black smog that threatened to choke his lungs and yet only offered mild irritation. Ren offered a compliment towards his weapon, which appeared to get a wide grin from the male as he hefted the massive blade to catch the glint of an unknown light. ”Thank you. My mother forged it herself.” he said so with absolute pride, letting the weapon dismiss itself in a flash of light blue light while the conversation shifted to talks of the supernatural.

”I can tell this isn’t your first time.”I just sorta work with mister sun spot here on his quest to...purify spots like these or whatever. He motioned to Cas who looked all too pleased with himself, smiling slightly as he  wiped away the golden blood that was drying on his palm.

”It’s good to have someone helping against these hell portals.” he noted, seeming to then look over the spot where the portal had once been. ””So...do you know any kind of magic? I mean I guess it should be obvious but didn’t want to assume.” Cas wondered about the male once he had finished examining the scene, eyes now glowing an odd molten gold.