#0:Seed

Pain and pleasure; when viewed by mankind, they are quickly distinguishable from each other, two extremes gazing upon each other from the opposite ends of the spectrum.

And yet, some pleasures can only be attained through pain; not just physical pain, like when a man murders those who have wronged him. The mental pain drives the pleasure further and further; the longing for sex with an attractive member of the opposite gender to prove acceptance and superiority, a growing craving for all forms of human intercourse.

But for all human beings, it reaches a halt.

It is when their desires take them to a realm of alien suffering, where the line is not only blurred between pain and pleasure but utterly wiped out, that they long for a return to a normal life on Earth. But they are far too gone, for it is their desires that have trapped them in a labyrinth that they will never be able to escape, no matter how much they navigate.

It is their desires that give them the puzzle boxes, configurations that, when solved, whisk the solver away to the Labyrinth. It is a realm that is constantly turning and changing, just like its ruler and creator, the diamond shaped god Leviathan. Realizing that Satan had simply become the warden of Hell and the damned souls, Leviathan realized that light cannot function without dark, and so he abandoned his post as an angel and sought to become a god opposite to God Himself.

And so, the Labyrinth was created, and Leviathan became the god of desire, hunger, and the flesh. But Leviathan sought order in contrast to God's incredibly chaotic and unpredictable humans, and the first species he had created-the chimeric Engineers-soon found their purpose in creating the footsoldiers of order.

Cenobites.

Some solvers of the puzzle boxes are not simply obsessed; they are masters of whatever deviant activity they participate in. Because of this, Leviathan sees potential in them, and they are taken to the chambers of the Engineers where they are changed in more ways than one. Stripped and hooked onto chains and tentacles, their bodies are horribly scarified and parts of them are changed to fit an aspect of their personality; soon, they are bound in skin-tight leather and their blood is altered to become a bizarre blue liquid, before the final stage of the transformation. The Engineers wipe the memories of the Cenobite's past human life, for Leviathan does not tolerate any chaos in his realm or subjects.

Though the Cenobite known as Pinhead is favored by Leviathan, it is Orno who creates the gateways into the Labyrinth. Originally a human who was constantly searching for an equation to solve his own personal problems, he had been taken by Leviathan and declared the creator of the new puzzle boxes after the human named Phillip Lemarchand had created the first box:the Lament Configuration. With his face stretched out by a metal ring and three metal arrows pointing to the top of his head, he looked through the minds of a male human who had been dragged into the Labyrinth until he discovered the "equation" of their mind and used it to create a new puzzle box.

But even the Labyrinth needs protection, and it grows weak without any new Cenobites or humans for them to experiment on. Once he has used a mans "mind equation" to create a puzzle box, Orno fills the man with his seed and sends him back to Earth to have sex with a human woman. Afterwards, the man-who is referred to as "raw material"-commits suicide and the woman will die giving birth to the child.

A Guardian.

Though they look human, in reality, Guardians are tall, skeletal draconic creatures. When they reach the age of sixteen, Orno comes to Earth to reveal to them their true form and species, their abilities, and their destiny:the puzzle box they will guard for the rest of eternity.

It is lonely and unhappy, the life of a Guardian. To find a human seeking pleasure, to make sure they do not take too long to use the puzzle box, to take the box back when the human is gone, and to save it from destruction:those are the only four things a Guardian has to live for. And yet, it is a duty they fulfill without complaint, no matter what they may be forced to endure, and however little gratitude they receive from the realm they guard.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

June 4…

The room was made to look like the writhing bodies of naked women, all of them screaming for sexual pleasures. Standing in the center of the room was an incredibly thin, frail black man, his eyes dry and shriveled and his ribs jutting out of his chest. Behind him two women had their mouths open, hooked chains embedded in the mans back and stopping at the back of his waist, leaving his back torn wide open. Two more women embedded in the floor spewed chains digging in between his legs, splitting his legs wide apart.

His name was Marcus Palantine, but here, he was just another "subject", as they called him. The Cenobites, that was what that man with the stretched face had called himself; Orno, was what he said his name was. The creature had looked through his mind, something Marcus did not wish to remember. It had felt like somebody was drilling through his skull, little fragments of the bone cutting into his brain. He had gotten used to the chains hooked into him, though; what really pissed him off was all these women screaming at him.

Perhaps I should have stuck with the rape, Marcus thought to himself. Maybe...trying to discover love wasn't such a great idea…

Suddenly, the wall of women before him parted, and he stepped in. His face stretched out by a metal ring, three arrows pointing to the top of his head, his shredded chest exposed.

Orno.

"How do you feel?" Orno asked him, his voice barely intelligible; it sounded oddly similar to a man with extreme congestion in his throat. The wall behind him remained parted.

"Fuck off!" Marcus spat. "You put me in this cell filled with a bunch of whores I can't even rape, you tear my back open, you don't feed me or give me anything to drink, I can't move, and you have the nerve to ask me how I feel? Oh, I'd feel a lot better if your throat was torn out and your face-!"

The chains digging into Marcus suddenly retracted, and the women they came from immediately started shrieking. He fell and screeched in pain, reaching for the area between his legs as Orno simply grinned and chuckled.

"Do not force me to remind you, Marcus, that you are in no position to threaten me. You stand here thinking of how your life could have gone differently, and yet, you regret nothing. You are indecisive, and I find such a trait to be...unruly. But fret not, for it shall not last for much longer."

Orno then flipped Marcus over and a chain shot out of his wrist cuff and into Marcus' anus. His screeching instantly increased, sounding like a rabid animal in its death throes. As soon as it had shot out, the chain retracted and Orno gently moved his hand over Marcus' wounds, which he quickly healed.

"Wha-?" Marcus gasped, his shrieking stopping as he felt his healed back and the area between his legs.

"You should be glad, Marcus; you shall see Earth again...perhaps for the final time. Not every man is as lucky as you are, being my raw material. It is a great deed to carry a Cenobite's seed, to hold my craving…"

And with that, he picked up Marcus and threw him out of the cell and into the void between worlds.

One minute later…

Marcus' entire head throbbed. His eyes opened slowly, his vision flickering back as the sunlight touched his naked body. The moment his vision returned, he lied on the ground for at least two more minutes, inhaling and exhaling as he waited for the pain in his head to subside.

He pushed himself up and looked around, hoping he was back in Seattle. But this didn't look like Seattle; this place looked like Hell bursting through the earth. Garbage lined the alleyway in an almost synchronous manner, while the bricks were falling out and cracked.

Marcus got to his feet and slowly edged out of the alley. For some reason, he didn't care that he was completely naked; he just wanted...something, but he didn't know what.

He reeled back as he got a whiff of the perfume. The saliva in his mouth started bubbling and his muscles stiffened. Marcus didn't know what was going on, yet it felt so…

...so right.

The woman then came into his view, walking away from the building she had just exited. He immediately sized her up:a perfectly spherical rear, protruding breasts, straight long black hair, and smooth dark skin.

Dad likes.

The instinct in Marcus' mind sprang to attention. Time seemed to slow down as he sprinted towards the woman, who heard the pounding on the ground and finally saw the naked man ready to pounce. She didn't have time to register any of it, though, as she was quickly knocked to the ground.

Marcus then grabbed her skirt and underwear and tore them off before he made his move. He felt as if though every ounce of him was entering the woman, and his strength and drive waned quickly. He realized his job was done and he stood up.

Marcus turned around and shambled back to the alley, the woman beginning to scream. It didn't matter to him; his job was done.

He was on the street now. He didn't notice the eight-wheeler even as his entire skeleton was torn to pieces by its wheels.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

July 12…

"I'm not having a baby!"

"If you're not gonna have it, who is?"

"Nobody! I'm not having it!"

The young woman and her mother stared at each other for several tense seconds, the mood making it feel like minutes. Behind the mother was her husband, a stout bald black man who squinted down at his daughter like a hawk searching for its prey.

"You saying you gonna kill your own child?" the mother asked, unable to hide her shock.

"It's not even my child! I never wanted it, some motherfucker just-!"

The mother slapped her daughter across her mouth, while her husbands eyes flashed open wide, almost bulging out of their sockets with anger.

"So it's not enough to murder your own child? Now you think, because you're in a foul mood, you can curse in my house?"

"YOU DON'T HIT ME LIKE THAT! You think that your religion is gonna do any of us any good when I've just been raped by a man who's been missing for eight months?! A serial rapist?! I'm not raising the child of a man who raped innocent people!"

"We'll help you, that's why we're here!" the father suddenly said.

"What? What can you do? You'll raise a child of rape in Detroit, and it's gonna be like every animal out there raised by its grandparents! You'll just be raising another murderer, another rapist! My child doesn't deserve to be alive!" the daughter screamed at her parents, tears forming in her eyes and her last words beginning to sound warped like a broken recording.

And with that, she turned around and walked out, slamming the door behind her.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

March 12…

"Heartbeat is slowing down! Only thirty seven beats per minute!"

In the hospital room, the four doctors were trying to do everything they could to both keep Amber Randle alive and help her give birth, but in the case of the former, they were failing miserably.

"Skin's gotten cold and rough!" on the doctors yelled as she removed her fingers from the veins along Amber's neck.

Amber Randle herself was barely holding on as she coughed and heaved in her bed, her strength having given out several hours ago. Her eyes stared into space and her face was blank, as if though she felt no pain and did not care that she was not far from death.

"The child is starting to come out!"

"Ms. Randle! Ms. Randle, can you hear me? We need you to push just a bit more, just a bit more-we can get the baby out faster!" one of the doctors shouted.

"Heartbeat is only twenty nine beats per minute!"

All of the shouting and ordering was drowned out by Amber Randle's sudden shrieking; to them, it sounded more like some animal being dissected alive.

They had all dealt with births before, but they sincerely wished they would never have to hear that noise ever again in their lives.

As soon as it came, it went, and the shrieking was replaced with the sobbing that signalled a new life.

"Donovan...Donovan…" Amber muttered.

"What did she say?" the female doctor asked.

"I think she said 'Donovan'" one of the other doctors answered.

Strangely, the crying mixed well with the sound of a flatline.

"Flatline! Come on, come on, get the defibrillator out! Hurry up, get it out!"

"Clear!"

The defibrillator sparked to life and Amber Randle's body shook violently before it stopped.

"Pulse is still dead!"

"Do it one more time!"

"Clear!"

The machine still flatlined.

One of the doctors sighed, running his hand over his beard before he looked up at the clock.

"Time of death, call it...10:46 PM."

The doctors shut Amber's eyes and pulled the blanket over her before they carefully separated the baby from its umbilical cord.

Donovan Randle cried in protest as he was separated from his mother, this time for good.

(NEXT TIME: Donovan Randle reaches his sixteenth birthday. He thinks it's just another birthday, like everyone elses...until he receives a birthday card from a man going by the name "Orno." Things go from bad to worse as Donovan discovers what he really is and how far his strength can go… All this in Guardian #1:God Among Men.)