Only in a place bursting with darkness could a dismal ceremony like that be held. It was the kingdom of shadows, a dwelling too dark for the living beings of the upper world. The last time this place had seen the radiant light of the golden sun was back in the day when the world was created. After that, only darkness had reigned, giving a home to shades that were banished from the surface, for humans held too much fear towards things they didn't understand in their hearts. Though there were also those among the shadows that had decided to descend to the underground realm by their own free will, realizing that they could never thrive in the world that was blessed by sun, moon and the stars. They would never be able to get lost in their beauty or explore the sky, they were condemned to stay in a space that was like a tomb with the cold stone surrounding them from all sides, the only source of light being the fire that had a destructive nature. Though, usually the shadows chose to stay in complete blackness and wail and moan, because forlorn were their little dark hearts, and collectively they thought that they didn't deserve any comfort.

For millennials the shadows had stayed in their own dark world, having barely any connection to the surface where everything else was bustling with life. It had made them perilously envious of humans and animals, of flowers and trees, of sea and sky, because they could never be part of them. But despite everything, malice was one thing they didn't wish upon anything. Regardless of this, when everything changed in the upper world, they did feel overjoyed for the first time in ages, because they were still spiteful; no one is utterly good or evil.

It was the appearance of the bloody maiden that ultimately sealed the grim fate of the world as humans knew it. She was a woman with no skin, her flesh completely exposed to everyone to see. Born from the heart of darkness, she was familiar with the underground's forsaken shadows, but unlike them, she had a solid form. Eventually she decided to visit the surface and experience what life was like in a world of humans. Her heart was free from grudge and malevolence, however, she was still about to play an important role in the story of great calamity. The bloody maiden wandered around the surface world for a while, even though the rays of the sun burned her flesh like a holy light would do to creatures of darkness. But she did withstand all the pain and continued on her journey that took her a few years. Her macabre appearance terrified the hearts of most she came across; for them she was a hideous monster that had crawled straight from the pits of hell. Being superficial is a great human flaw. But in the end, she did encounter a human that saw her as something else rather than an abomination that had clawed its way from the great abyss to the human world.

He was a man with visions and an exquisite interest towards the wonders of the world and beyond. His mind was quite different from what most of the humans had, this resulting in him becoming a social outcast. This didn't bother him, however, as he knew that he was destined to greatness. He just didn't know in what form it would be offered to him, and when he met the bloody maiden for the first time, he had no idea that this was the beginning to his tale of how he would reshape the world itself – for worse. It was his curiosity that allowed him to get acquainted with the bloody maiden rather than deeming her as a fiend that should be burned. He welcomed her to his world and showed her all of its wonders. And with her black tongue, she told him about her home, the realm of shadows, and how miserable it made her feel that they were condemned to stay underground like disgusting maggots that were only good at eating away the rotten bodies.

And then they wondered together, how could they combine these two different worlds, to make them more balanced and change the unfairness that currently plagued them? The world of humans and the world of shadows had already started to collide in some way, the man and the bloody maiden surmised, since they had met each other. It was the first step, but the collision had to be made on a larger scale. It wasn't until many moons had passed when an idea for the solution began to take its shape in the man's brilliant mind. The plane of existence where they all currently lived was definitely flawed, favoring the world of humans. And who was the one who had set it that way? The creator god, of course. For years the man had questioned the god's ways, more than common men usually did. And in an arrogant way, he had started to think that he was above the god's design. Now he had become even more sure about that, which led to his great realization: they had to kill the god, because as long as it existed, they could never be free to shape their own destiny. This idea got stuck in his head, it was like somebody had struck a nail into his brain, and he became obsessed about it, presenting it to the bloody maiden. And unfortunately, she agreed with his plan.

Killing a god is easier than what some may think. There are short periods of time when it is in a much weaker state than usual, this specific time just had to be discovered first. That of course isn't common knowledge offered to mortals, but the man knew that with his brilliant mind, he could find out the secret of their creator god and how to end its life. The god just had to be lured out somehow by creating a disaster strong enough that it would feel the need to interfere. And for that, he had to figure out what was the god's affinity with something: a sky, forests, sea, fire, knowledge, death? The man had never been a religious person, but for his objective, he had to take a deep dive into the religion that centered around the creator god. Together with the help of the bloody maiden he gathered sufficient information regarding the deity that was the most worshipped being in their world. As they discovered that the creator god had an affiliation with the sun, the countdown to the greatest catastrophe the world had ever seen had already begun.

Most people would think that two mortals couldn't possibly do much damage to the world on their own, but such underestimating mindset can turn out to be fatal. Nobody was aware of the plot that was taking place in the darkness, so carefully crafted by the man and the bloody maiden. The rest of the world was blissfully unaware of the preparations happening behind the scenes that would doom their existence. The people were living their simple lives like if it was a perfect lie, not once did it cross their minds that they could be gone tomorrow.

And one day, the world as they knew it ended. The man and the bloody maiden had figured out that the creator god was at its weakest during a solar eclipse, it was only logical. It was a rare occurrence, but they were patient, ready to attack the sun itself once the time was right. Patience is always rewarded and it stayed true in this case as well. Solar eclipse was known to be a bad omen, but no one would have guessed that this time, it was the sign of a doomsday. As the world got shrouded in unnatural darkness, the man and the bloody maiden pointed the device they had created together at the sky. When the moon finally started to step aside to reveal the sun once more, the two mortals launched the most lethal weapon in existence and shot a beam towards the sun, splitting the heaven in half. The whole sky burst into flames, it was like an inferno above the world of humans as the sun got destroyed, its fires spreading throughout the heaven. Slaughtering the sun like this meant that a demise would claim the creator god as well and thus, the man and the bloody maiden had succeeded with their plan. The god was dead, and so was the flawed unfairness between the two realms it had created. The people of the world of humans had watched with horror how the sun died, unsure what would now happen to them. But the man and the bloody maiden didn't stay in the surface world to find out, no, they ran away like cowardly criminals, escaping to the world of shadows where the shades welcomed them with open arms.

Now it was the perfect time for them to do one last thing, one last ceremony that would unite them for the rest of their cursed days.

They were standing in an old chapel that perhaps had once been grandeur, but had then fallen in disrepair – maybe it originated from the upper world and had at some point sunken through the soil? The man and the bloody maiden were so close to each other that they could touch, but they refrained from doing so, for now. They were standing by an altar which was depicting a deity, etched into the crumbling stone; they didn't know who this divine figure was or if it still existed. For a brief moment the man quickly glanced over at the rest of the spacious room, noticing a group of shades coming through the wide doorway and seeking places to sit from the old wooden benches. The ceiling of the chapel had partly collapsed already, but nobody seemed to pay any attention to this detail. The man didn't care much, either, if the whole place came crashing down during the ceremony, then so be it. Though there were thick black roots infiltrating the chapel like dark tentacles of a monster that wanted to devour the beings of the realm of shadows, and perhaps those roots served as a supporting structure. A long crimson carpet split the chapel in half, its strong vibrant color being so odd in a place that was dominated by dull and withered hues. A couple of torches had been lit, mostly for the man's own comfort, because his eyes were still accustomed to the life of the world of humans. Then he looked back at the woman in front of him and patiently waited.

“She's a monster”, had too many people commented on her appearance.

But to the man, she was beautiful, in a way he couldn't properly explain. Of course, she didn't have skin, her flesh was constantly exposed and she was drenched in blood, but he could see past these traits unlike all the other humans. They surely deserve to live in a broken world, he had thought. A faint smirk lingered on the face of the man as he stared at his bride. She was veiled by pure white robes with a little bit of gold streaks decorating them. On her head she was wearing an ornament that resembled a crown; it was made of gold and a piece that had the shape of a half moon completely covered her eyes. Even though the man couldn't see those hidden eyes, he could still feel the tender gaze of them. Most likely she was looking at him with the same adoration like how he was staring at her, letting her gaze wander around his body that was concealed by his black robes. They would expose their bodies to each other soon enough.

Then an entity they had been waiting for entered the chapel, bringing a solemn atmosphere with him. Everyone's looks shifted towards the doorway and they all watched how this shadow walked through the chapel, heading to the altar where the man and the bloody maiden were standing, waiting. Most of the shadows were nothing but dark shades, but this new arrival had a blue flame burning inside his chest. He wasn't exactly like the forlorn majority, his core had sensations of warmth that the rest of the shadows could only dream of. He could bring light and kind-heartedness wherever he would go and that was the reason why he had appeared to the ruined chapel right at that moment.

The shadow who carried the blue flame reached the altar and took his position. Now that his presence was finally here, the ceremony could begin. The attention of the spectating shadows was completely on the altar and they would watch through it all. The man and his bloody bride were once again focused on each other as the shadow with the flame began speaking. His language was something the man didn't understand; however, he could feel the power of his words. A strange tension had suddenly started to surge in the air, it almost felt electric. The entity carved to the stone began to glow in crimson light; it was a sign of an ancient blessing that it could give even if it wasn't alive anymore in this plane of existence. The man and the bloody bride gently took a hold of each other's hands, something magical now coursing through their bodies. A loud crashing sound shook the chapel violently as a hole appeared on the ceiling by the altar. A stream of blood came gushing down from the gap, flowing to the floor and stained the clothes of the man and the bloody bride, but they barely paid any attention to this; their focus still remained on each other. The flood of blood kept spreading and filled the floor of the chapel, it was the blood of the many dead lovers whose lives ended in tragedy, but their essence was here now to give their blessing to the man and his bride. It was all for the ceremony.

A chime of bells started to resonate in the air, sounding a little ominous as they seemingly came out of nowhere. Perhaps it was ghosts ringing those bells or maybe it was shadows that had faded away so much that they couldn't retain any sort of form anymore. The sound of bells was getting gradually louder and the shadow with the blue flame had to raise his voice so he could be heard. And still, the man and the bloody bride had their focus on each other, it didn't matter what was happening around them. They both knew that this was an unholy marriage, something that shouldn't occur. It was only natural that some forces in the world were against it, however, they most likely were busy dealing with the disaster the man and the bloody bride had caused in the upper world. There was no one who could interrupt the dark ceremony.

The shadows raised from their seats and began to chant in unison as something started to happen with the one who held the blue flame. His core was burning vigorously, the fire expanding, and for a moment it looked like it would burst violently and destroy everything in the chapel. But it didn't. Instead, it changed its color to crimson – the color of curses – and as the shadow threw his hands to the air in portentous fashion and spoke even louder, the flames from his chest spread throughout the chapel, however, they caused no harm to anyone or anything. It was a sign that the ceremony was near completion, blessing everyone in the spacious room, especially the man and the bloody bride. Now it was the time for them to seal their lives together. Slowly they were getting closer to each other, as if savoring every second, and a crimson glow lit in their intertwined hands. Their lips met, and it wasn't their first time, but still it felt different somehow to the man. Her lips, they were softer now, and although there was blood on them, they tasted sweet, sweeter than anything he had ever tasted. It left him with a feeling that he wanted more. So he continued to kiss her tenderly, not caring about what was happening to him at that moment.

He had to become one with darkness. The crimson glow spread to his body and began a macabre change. His skin was getting flayed on the spot, all of it getting peeled down. Flesh had to get exposed, bloody and raw. Now his appearance would match with his bride and the world of shadows. His removed skin fell on the blood that was still flowing on the floor, being now nothing more but a useless and disgusting reminder of the man's humanity. He didn't need such remembrance.

The ceremony had reached its end, and so everything in the chapel started to revert back to how things were supposed to be. The shadows stopped chanting; the chime of bells faded away like a whisper in the wind. The crimson flame of the shade holding the ceremony turned to blue again and stopped overflowing the chapel. The stream of blood ran dry, only droplets now dripping onto the floor from the hole where the river had come from, but it would take time before all the blood would vanish from the room, though some shadows were already contributing in cleaning the mess, licking the floor with their black tongues; surprisingly many individuals had a taste for blood.

Now the lives, souls and hearts of the man and his bride were tangled together for all eternity, and they could begin their own story, living happily in the darkness while the world above them was burning by their actions. Hand in hand they left the chapel and some of the shadows gathered around the pieces of the man's abandoned skin and started to eat it. To some it was their first meal in centuries and while they devoured the remains of the man's humanity, they made sure that he would never get it back.

But lucky to him, he saw beauty in the darkness.