[ WP ] A group of the best lawyers alive gather to out loophole the devil with a deal .

“ I think we are ready to begin ” said Carrol Eddison, CEO of the Raikel International, one of the most prominent law firms on the planet, specializing in high profile international trading agreement litigation. Silence gradually descended on the conference room 85, located in the uppermost floor of the Dubai City Tower. 
 
 There were 46 people in the brightly lit room, seated around a long table of black marble, lawyers all but one. Representatives of high profile firms, consultants and experts gathered here for a united purpose – to strike a deal with the devil himself. That wouldn ’ t be all that unusual in and of itself, for such deals were made in great secret since as long as humanity has existed, but this case was special indeed. For this was the day zero, the day where all of the long term plans would come to fruition – the Contract was complete. Drafted for over a decade by the brightest minds of a century the text was a masterpiece designed to deceive the Deceiver himself. 
 
 In silence, all eyes fell on the one person who was not from their inner circle. Nobody knew his name, but it was not important. The figure in a simple black suit, standing beside the only empty seat at the opposite end of the table from Carrol, was the representative of Covenant of the Nine Eyes. The medium. The man checked the watch on the back of his wrist – 23:58. The time indeed was nigh. 
 
 “ As you wish, sir ”. 
 
 Everyone held their breath. Only two people in the group have ever participated in the deals personally and even their nerves were stretched thin. 
 
 The man in a simple black suit extended a finger and deftly drew a figure in the air. And just like that, darkness fell. As Carrol would later recall, it wasn ’ t that the bright neon lights failed, it was as if the light itself suddenly lost its brilliance, withered and faded, refusing to fall on the far end of the room, on the last seat, which was no longer empty. In the gloom, two eyes of deadly red brilliance opened slowly as the Watcher turned his head. 
 
 Carrol did not consider himself a brave man, but he was not a coward. He has faced death on occasion and has come to terms with it, which accounted to no small part of the success in his line of work. And yet, the gaze of two bright dots, piercing the veil of unnatural darkness, seemingly straight in to his soul, brought him to a dead stop. This is where the line ended. This was where the Void began. A cold feeling of primal fear began creeping up his spine, threatening his composure. It was not as it was supposed to go, the Devil was said to be human in appearance, a casual, friendly guy, easy to see reason with. Not this… not… 
 
 “ **SPEAK** ”. The word fell like a hammer on a sheet of glass, making everyone jump in their seats, but it broke Carrol out of his stupor. Still transfixed by the inhuman gaze, he held up his notes, not realizing it was crumpled nearly in to a ball by the death grip of his hand. 
 
 “ Lord, allow me to… ” 
 
 “ **KHASNIR ISKVALAK, RHADOS** ”. 
 
 The darkness became absolute, pitiful shine of the neon obscured and blown away by the unnatural wind that tore the papers from the table and past Carrol, beyond sheets of bulletproof glass rendered immaterial as if in a dream turned to nightmare. 
 
 Carrol, in his terror, was vaguely aware of the figure in a simple black suit walking slowly past his colleagues along the table, frozen in their screams, unable to tear their eyes away from the two bright red dots, shirts and neckties fluttering maddeningly in the hurricane of another world. The medium calmly took the Contract, which laid unaffected by the chaos on the table in front of Carrol, turned a few pages absently, then looked up and smiled. 
 
 “ I ’ m afraid your terms are unacceptable, mister Eddison ”. 
 
 ________________________________ 
 
 The ceiling was yellow. This was the first thing he noticed when he opened his eyes. The ceiling was yellow and there were bars on the window. Carrol closed his eyes. 
 
 He could hear a woman trying to object a man who insisted on speaking with him immediately. He could hear someone talking in adjacent room, something about a mass murder, terrorism and investigation. Carrol could hear many things from many places. Overlapping. Echoing. Calling. 
 
 And one terrible, unnatural voice. 
 
 Laughing. 

