The Contracted Soul: A Tale from the Myst City Chronicles

The moon hung over the cemetery, peeping curiously between the clouds, the night was as quiet as a hushed child. Only the sounds were of dirt turning out of a growing hole and the rustling willow tree. Umbra ignored the worms, the mud on his clothes, his blisters from the shovel, and the rising damp chill he felt. He dug tirelessly until he finally struck the wood of his mother’s coffin. He rummaged through his bag until his hand felt the cold iron of a crowbar. In one swift movement he unhinged the coffin’s lid and peered under it. The smell! It was overpowering, he wasn’t expecting it to be so pungent. He covered his nose, and gagged. All he had to do now was sketch a circle around the grave and begin the ritual. He shambled out of the grave with his nose pinched. Hovering over the grave like a ghoul, he opened the grimoire and began reading. Following the tome’s instructions, he drew a circular array with piece of chalk. Once the circle was drawn and lit candles had been placed strategically on the array he formed, it was ready. Next the ritual called for a few drops of his blood. He looked nervously at the glimmering dagger tucked under his belt. Putting the book down and placing a small iron goblet at his feet he unsheathed the small dagger and held it reluctantly over his palm. He took a deep breath and reminded himself that it was for his mother, flinching as he dragged the cold steel across his quivering hand. He held the dripping wound over the small goblet and continued to read, glancing down. Next he tossed the goblet into the pit. As the blood spilled in, the array lit up fiercely in the darkest crimson. The moon too, began to match its ferocity as his surroundings blurred and churned like he was in the eye of a storm. The air around Umbra grew thick, warm, almost like breath. The smell of rot was replaced by the smell of sulfur. A hulking figure rose up from the grave and swirled in a cloud of red, finally condensing, forming a glowing red demon, illuminated further by the raging light of the array. He had called forth the contract demon, Belphagor.