"Find me the one who has the key to this door," Eli commanded.
"Of course, sir," the woman bowed again and scurried off.
"Look at them," Other Eli whistled, "Even things like them can have a nice ass."
"They were human too," Eli's voice remained low, "Long before their souls became corrupted."
Eli's time in that pit had shown him exactly what these things were. Most of them, damned to eternity. Or so they supposedly were supposed to be.
The ones Eli had seen were those commanded by Andras, some high-ranking daemon from a place far from this world. Yet they had somehow found a way into this one.
Memories flashed in Eli's mind as he remembered watching them appear one by one in those unholy symbols painted onto the floor of that pit. He remembered Andras being angry when it would no longer bring anymore over.
He also remembered being punished when those circles would fail to continue working. He wasn't too familiar with those who were 'damned', as he believed them to be the lowest ranked within the daemon hierarchy, or so he guessed.
He had seen them be treated like garbage, not too dissimilar to him, but he had firsthand seen that they too were capable to committing vile acts.
As far as Eli knew, he thought there to be only around twenty or so. Yet he hadn't recognized a single one among those here. Did they somehow bring more of them over?
A worrisome thought began to form in Eli's mind as he pondered these questions. Has Andras been bringing more of them over throughout these last few years? How many by now?
Eli was now able to look at those with his eye without attacking people mentally now. It had felt like a switch he could on and off at will. A feeling told him he could do more than just that, he just hadn't figured out what else he could do now. Maybe this thread attached to him was another ability.
"Heads up," the other him yawned.
The frail looking man with the key appeared around a corner with the woman from before. With Eli's right eye gazing upon the man, the veil that had hidden those signature black eyes had been lifted.
"Sir," the man bowed, followed by the woman. "Open the door," Eli gestured. Quickly, the man fumbled for the key in his pocket and unlocked the door. "If I may sir," the frail man started, "Marquis Andras has not yet sent any word of an Accursed arriving here. May I ask of which Duke you are attached to?"
Silence lingered as Eli did not speak. He was trying to take every ounce of information in. Marquis Andras? Duke? Accursed? None of it made sense, except Andras.
"You're going to have to say or do something man," the other him sighed.
"I need not answer to the likes of you," Eli replied coldly, guessing that his position was much higher than this damned souls.
"Forgive me sir," the frail man bowed.
"You may leave," Eli stated as he waved his hand.
Quickly turning, the two scurried off at his word.
Opening the door, Eli was met with the sight of a hatch. Opening it, a foul odor met his nostrils. Below, a wooden ladder led down into some sort of cave below.
Stepping down, Eli made his descent till he reached the bottom. Torches lined the walls as he began to make his way into the corridor ahead.
Eli had guessed this place to be naturally formed.
Further inside, Eli found his way blocked with a large wooden door.
Pushing it open slowly, Eli was met with a plethora of smells and sounds. Beyond the door was another corridor, however this one looked to be carved out. Smaller, more normal sized doors lined the walls on either side, about twenty or so.
"Who are you," a gruff voice came from beside Eli. A daemon, nearly hidden behind the door, seemed to be standing watch. He wore basic metal armor with a sword attached to his hip. Black eyes studied him, only for the man to instantly straighten up once he noticed Eli's right eye.
"U-uh sir," the man started, "I was unaware of your arrival." The man shivered slightly as Eli only stared back at him.
"What's behind these doors?" Eli asked, his voice like stone.
"Sir?" The guard asked.
"The doors? What is behind them?" Eli asked once again.
"It's just a few of us having some fun with the captives sir," the man laughed awkwardly. "Before they are used in the ritual and discarded."
Screams, cries, grunts, and more noises of debauchery and misery filled Eli's ears. The line connected to him could wait.
The crimson in Eli's eye burned, his thoughts scattered and incoherent. "Uh sir, is something the matter?" The man asked with a trace of fear. The star and sigils began to spin in Eli's eye, causing the guard before him to take a step back.
The spinning grew faster as the glow from his eye became even brighter, projecting crimson light onto the man and stone behind him. Energy flowed through his body as his emotions continued to boil.
On impulse, Eli lunged forward grabbing the man by the throat and lifting him into the air. Black veins flared from Eli's eye, traveling throughout his body.
The man struggled as he tried reaching for his sword. Eli used his free hand to grab the one reaching for the sword. Clamping his hand onto the man's own, Eli slowly squeezed. Bones began to crack. The man tried to scream, but the grip on his throat tightened, forcing his scream back down.
Eli continued to squeeze the man's hand till only a bloody mess of bone, flesh, and tendons remained. By now, the man had gone limp. Eli tossed the corpse back to the ground, yet something caught his eye.
A tiny black orb could be seen escaping the man's body, simply floating in the air above his body. "Grab it," The other him ordered. Eli did so, studying the strange object. Suddenly, the black veins within his palm exploded through his flesh, wrapping themselves around the orb. The pain was excruciating. Slowly, the veins began to absorb the object until nothing remained. Then they slowly retreated back into his palm, the flesh mending over and returning back to normal.
"I'll tell you about it later," the other him said. "Go do what you want."
Eli turned back to the lines of doors with a look of fury in his eyes.