EPISODE 18: Escape Darkness

Hidden in a far corner of the Abyss, inside the thatched dwelling, the woman of starlight, Aolani, happy to have guests, welcomed Banerjee, Veera, and Herakles, but had no interest in ever leaving the quiet oasis she created.  

AOLANI: The world I once knew, my world, my people, cast me aside. They offered me to fire, to ash. And for what? A lie. Betrayed by those I healed, those I trusted...Here, at least, I’m free. Here I owe nothing to anyone.

BANERJEE: But here, you are bound still. This place is a prison dressed in sunlight.

AOLANI: I’ve shaped it to my liking. What use is home to me now? My people didn’t want me. They took me and my powers for granted.

Banerjee appeals to Aolani for help - © 2025 Headless Horseman Productions, LLC

VEERA: I know that feeling. When I was a boy, I was chosen to be on a path as a powerful protector, all while forced to keep my abilities a secret. Charged with saving a world I barely understood. In a place I wasn’t wanted. Surrounded by others who looked down upon me because of the color of my skin.

AOLANI: And yet, you still want to serve them?

VEERA: As I’ve gotten older, I serve because I choose to. Because I use my powers for good. If I don’t, the world may suffer. I’ve realized here in the void, the world I left is a beautiful place worth saving. Even if there are those who don’t understand me. 

HERKALES: The world has need for champions of all shapes and sizes. 

But she seemed unmoved by it all...After a moment of silence, Banerjee would try and appeal to her honor of duty as someone with abilities in magic. 

BANERJEE: Aolani, your power could change the balance in our fight. You suffered at the hands of small minds. Do not let them twist your gift away from what is right. 

Veera could feel the betrayal in her mind, the heartache of those she loved and trusted the most, turning on her...kind of like Orem Black's disillusionment with his father Reginald. The consequences of the wrong choices...Veera could have been a better friend to Orem, he could have stopped him from seeking the malevolent, but he didn't know. Here was another chance to stop someone from giving in to the void.

VEERA: The dark fears you, Aolani, that’s why they tricked people you trusted most. And it’s why they sent you here. To control you. But you yearn to be free. We all do. 

Her starlight would dim...then flare, as if her soul was wrestling with itself, taking Veera’s words to heart. He was right...

Aolani agreed to help...she could weave a bridge to anywhere, but she’d have to prepare herself.

Casting something powerful enough to transcend worlds would be physically and mentally taxing. She would call on Ku, the God of war, Kane, the God of life, and Kanaloa, God of healing, to give her strength…Veera would send what power of his he could, using his mind’s eye…Banerjee joined him, connecting psychically with the powerful sorceress...but as he did, there were things he saw. Reading knowledge in her mind from her time with the demon Srel.

Banerjee learned Satan, losing Herakles as the leader of his vast army...would instead, choose others. Abandoning the idea of a human as commander, he would seek the worst, most vile, poisonous souls to instead reign hell-fire upon mankind. Leaving total annihilation in their wake...he would seek out, the FOUR PILLARS. Banerjee could feel the weight of the revelation...and it bothered him.

It’s hard to keep track in eternal night, but Aolani opened her eyes, ready to begin building the bridge, to their escape. Starlight spilled from her hands in ribbons that laced across the walls of the dwelling. The air trembled. The floor shuddered beneath their feet.

Above them, the false sky cracked, scattering into a thousand shards of light. The darkness of the Abyss rushed in, colliding with the glow Aolani conjured.

Aolani building a star bridge - © 2025 Headless Horseman Productions, LLC

The light bent, folding into a towering arch before them -- a bridge stretched outward. Its surface shimmered like glass, yet rippled as if alive, each pulse casting shadows of galaxies across the fading sand.

The Abyss recoiled. But the light would not go unnoticed. In the far distance, shapes began to stir -- souls drifting, demons clawing toward the brightness, drawn to it...but Aolani needed more time. 

BANERJEE: Veera, Herakles, help me hold them back. 

Veera and Banerjee cast pulses of energy, blasting demons. Herakles joined, using his brute force to keep them at bay. 

Aolani hit her pinnacle, as the purest essence of light emanated from her body. The bridge broke through, tearing the endless void. The moment had come for them to leave...but as Veera headed back to our world, he'd turn to Banerjee, seeing him hesitating.

Banerjee hesitates leaving the Abyss - © 2025 Headless Horseman Productions, LLC

VEERA: Uncle...come on. We must go.

BANERJEE: No, Veera. My place is here.

VEERA: What? Here? We finally have a way out.

BANERJEE: Listen to me, I have seen deep inside Satan’s designs. My powers are best served in this place, where I can glean off the dead.

VEERA: But, I can’t leave you.

BANERJEE: You are no longer the boy that the Order shaped. You are a man. Stronger than even you know. The world needs you. Warn them. Prepare them for what’s coming. Fight the darkness.

VEERA: But I’ve never been without you...

BANERJEE: Our mission lies in purpose, this is yours. Fight for the living world. I’ll stay and perhaps even twist Satan’s plans against him.

Veera’s eyes lingered on his uncle, heart torn. But Aolani strained, unable to hold the bridge much longer.  

BANERJEE: Trust me, my boy, you were meant for this. I will be here for you, find me through our mind’s eyes. Now go!

With Herakles and Aolani already stepping through the bridge to the other side, Veera knew the choice was made. With a final nod, he turned and followed them into the light. Behind him, the gate closed, leaving Banerjee alone in the Abyss.

TO BE CONTINUED…