Rae, a retired soul hunter, is urgently called back by her former boss to hunt down and capture her old enemy and brother, Don. Don is a cunning and dangerous opponent who has escaped from his hell prison and is determined to punish his sister for imprisoning him.

SYNOPSIS:

In the nightmare realm of hell, an ancient evil awakens: a male demigod, the son of a god and a human, named Don, is chained to a leafless white oak tree. His clothes are torn and bloodstained, remnants of an ancient era long forgotten. Don twists his body, struggling to break free from the chains that bind him. As he contorts his limbs, the rusty chains cut deeply into his flesh, causing open wounds to swell with blood, which drips onto the tree trunk stained with the blood of a thousand souls. The effort overwhelms him, and his body goes limp for a moment, but then his spirit reignites with renewed energy as his wounds begin to heal spontaneously.

From out of the darkness, Don’s father, Enmerkar, a fallen angel, appears before him, dressed in a long dark coat and an archetypal stoic face. He looks down as a serpent crosses over the tops of his shoes and slithers away into the shadows. Enmerkar speaks slowly and carefully.

“Why have you summoned me, my son?”

“I demand you release me.”

“Demand all you want, but your atrocities against humans over these many centuries still anger the one. If you weren’t my own, I would smite you myself.”

“Father, you know nothing about the heinous crimes humans commit against themselves. Their history is filled with inhumanity toward one another. I was freeing them so they could know their one true god, me.”

“Mortals belong to another’s realm, not yours.”

“It should be my realm by right, and I will take it.”

“I saved you and your sister from the great flood so you could serve humanity, not destroy it. And this is how you thank me—by killing your mother and a god. You want me to let you go so you can keep this rampage going? No, I will never release you, not in a thousand lifetimes.”

“No matter how hard you try to stop me, I will escape and exact my revenge.”

“I will not be part of this. If you escape, I will do everything in my power to stop you.”

Enmerkar turns his back on Don and disappears into the darkness.

“Power, you have no power over me. I will escape, you hear me.”

Alal, a minor, shadowy, snake-like demon, appears behind Don and speaks in a low tone.

“The Fetch did as you commanded, my master; she has helped me obtain the manuscript.”

“Show it to me.”

“Here it is, master.”

Alal suddenly drops the book, which lands spine-first. The book nearly opens to page six-sixty-six, but Alal quickly catches it and closes it before chaos erupts. "You fool.” Alal lifts the book to its chest, clutching it tightly to prevent it from falling again. "Sorry, master.”

“You have done well, Alal; I will reward you when I am free.”

“Oh, master, you are too kind; I don’t deserve such kindness.”

“Enough, now carefully open the book to page thirteen hundred and thirteen.

Alal carefully opens the book and turns to page 1,313. Hell begins to tremble. “Careful, you fool, or I will turn you back into a snake forever.” “A thousand apologies, master.” “Hold it closer so I may read from it.” Alal brings the book closer so Don can read the ancient script. Don begins reading aloud from the book, softly muttering a demon evocation from the primitive scripture. (Do not read this incantation aloud, especially if you are alone and in the dark.)

“Sie spiritus ego tibi ostendam te venire et in pulchra et decora facialis figura, sine dolo vel deformitas ex nomine Casmiel! Nomine dilecti Lucifer?”

From the dark pool below him, a whirlpool begins to form.

(Do not read this incantation aloud, especially if you are alone and in the dark.)

“Invoco te, et Sanctum! Regali et sublimis! Magnificentiam gloriae? Forti arcus-daemon!”

From the eye of the whirlpool, a creature — a striking, demon-like figure — emerges from the dark fluids.

The strangely attractive creature emerges from the dark water and stands before Don. It is dripping with the ooze from whence it came. Alal, frightened by the demon, takes the book and recedes into the shadows.

The demon, Asmodeus, one of the seven princes of Hell, slowly raises its head, and its cold black eyes stare into Don's.

“My master has allowed you to summon me.”

Don stares back, deep into the demon's black eyes.

“Will you serve me without question, Asmodeus?”

“I will serve you until my true master calls me back.”

“Call me master.”

“Command me, master.”

“Unchain me, now.”

Asmodeus grabs a large chunk of chain from beneath the tree and, in one smooth motion, pulls the chain off the tree, unchaining Don, and tosses the links into the ooze.

The chains make a splash and a kerplunk, and they disappear into the abyss.

“Is that all?”

Don shakes off the feeling of being shackled and leaps off the tree in a way that makes him appear to fly. He lands perfectly and uncomfortably close to Asmodeus.

Don, who is shorter, looks up at Asmodeus. Although he is more diminutive than Asmodeus, Don is much more powerful. Asmodeus bows its head to look at Don, and he stares back, unflinching, into its cold black eyes.

“No, there is more, much more.”

“Command me, master.”

“I want revenge.“

“I am revenge.”

“Good, for someone has kept me from my appointment with destiny.”

“And you intended to keep your appointment?”

“Yes, I fully intend to keep my appointment, and then I will destroy those ruling over the Netherworld who have wronged me and enslave all of its inhabitants.”

Don turns and looks down at his reflection in the black pool beside the tree.

“Then I will spread vitriolic hatred like a virus into the human world, and I will commit atrocities beyond human comprehension. They will all pray to me for mercy, and I will answer.”

“There is a powerful Fetch that will stop you.”

“I’m counting on it. We must go now, because we have a lot to do, and time is short.” Don leads the way, with Asmodeus close behind as they head toward the gates of hell and into the world.

THE NETHERWORLD