DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
---------------------------------------------------------
The United Roleplayer's Guild
HTML https://unitedroleplayers.createaforum.com
---------------------------------------------------------
*****************************************************
DIR Return to: Multiverse/Elseworlds Stories
*****************************************************
#Post#: 18065--------------------------------------------------
Elseworlds Story: To Hell and Back
By: Zorbak the Ebil Moglin Date: July 5, 2024, 3:33 am
---------------------------------------------------------
(Elseworlds Story: To Hell and Back)
Intro Theme: Sorrow (
HTML https://youtu.be/6bg3YSxcRLo?si=W4ADAn0zKJG2URzq
)
My name is Kindron Darkfire. Cousin of Vendetta Zuille who died
and was reincarnated. I once was one being, but now I'm multiple
beings spread across the multiverse. You've heard the story of
one of my other selves, the teacher who fought a powerful demon
lord. Today, I tell you about my story, the story of the former
Demon King who was exiled from Hell and lives on earth as a
protector of humanity.
I was reborn into a world very different from my old world and
other worlds I've seen where my other selves were sent. In this
world, Heaven and Hell are the only realms in the afterlife.
It's not split into pantheons like our universe was. I haven't
been to Heaven or anything, but it's more or less like the
Heaven of our world from what I've heard. But this isn't the
part that's radically different... That comes later.
Hell is more or less what you'd expect. Eternal torment, demonic
rule, that kind of thing. Evil people go to hell, or people who
make deals with their demons for their souls. The people who
make deals make deals with demons akin to the Crossroads demons
of our world. The demons torture souls sent to hell, and the
demons love every second of it.
This universe's Hell, like Tartarus in my world, is a place
where only the strongest rule. If you defeat the ruler of
demons, you become the new demon lord, ruler of demons.
Depending on your power, most who rule gain the title of Demon
Lord. A few stronger demon rulers gain the Demon King title
though, which is where I fell in along with only a few other
demon kings like King Satan and Balor the Demon King of the
Fomors. There's also an even rarer title: Demon God. Demon Gods
are usually unique in some way. There have only been four demon
gods I know of in all Hell's history: The first demon god of
pride Lucifer, the demon god of the underworld Anubis (Who was
overthrown by demonkind for having the most tyranical rule of
all demons against not just humans but demons as well), the
demon god of death Hades (My father, and the most fair ruler
demonkind ever had), and The Demon God of the Fomors Balor (The
fomors are water demons who branched out of Hell and became
their own thing). Now, you may be curious about Balor who was
both a demon king and a demon god. He started out as a demon
king, and then grew in power until he became a demon god. That's
why I mentioned him as a demon king and a demon god, because
he's been both.
I was once one of the rulers of Hell, which I ruled after I
defeated Balor in combat. As powerful as I was, I never gained
the title of Demon God. I was only a demon king, even though I
had strong power over death just like my father (who was a demon
god), and I beat a demon god (Balor) in combat. Whether it was
demons not wanting to acknowledge Hades' son (a lot of demons
didn't like Hades since they thought he was too soft), or me not
being powerful enough, I was only a Demon King.
I tried to rule fairly just as my father did (Both my universe
and this universe versions of my father taught me the same
thing: Fair rule, and not to oppress others because it shows you
as a weak ruler, not a strong one). No one knew I was
reincarnated from another world, and was essentially already a
demon god. My power surpassed those of most demons, only
surpassed by the first demon god, Lucifer. And we don't actually
know what happened to Lucifer. All we know is that he's nowhere
to be found in Earth or Hell.
However, my rule came to an end rather suddenly. Not through
defeat in battle, but by treachery (I know, I should expect it
from demons, but most demons have at least fought fairly in the
past).
Thanks to the Demon God, Anubis, he managed to turn most of
demon-kind against me and force me into exile.
You may be asking what I did to get almost all of demon-kind to
turn on me...
Well... Here's the thing: I tried to make peace between Heaven
and Hell. I wanted to end the war of angels vs demons. Not only
so we didn't wipe each other out, but because there's far worse
threats in the cosmos than each other. Peace between the races
and an end to the hatreds of the races was my ultimate goal. I
thought I could unite the races to stand against other more
dangerous threats. And I wasn't going to accomplish it by
violence, but by negotiation. And I truly believe some of those
threats I've seen hints of will wipe us out if we are not
united.
Needless to say, no one liked the idea of ending eons worth of
hatred. Demons undermined my authority, and challenged my power
to try and override my rule. Angels tried to kill me in order to
keep the status quo where it was, or they just didn't abide the
agreements. It wasn't easy. I had a few people on my side, but
overall, it never ended up happening.
For a while, I was working with Sariel trying to bring peace.
And before you say it, this version of Sariel was very different
from the version in my world. This Sariel was a pure hearted
angel who didn't like solving things with violence. When I
approached the angels about bringing peace, she was really
happy, because she was hoping demons could find redemption and
one day rejoin their brothers and sisters in Heaven.
My time with Sariel is... complicated... She and I used to be an
item. We were working together to try and bring peace between
angels and demons. But then, she suddenly stopped talking to me
when negotiations started falling apart between heaven and hell,
and closed the doors to heaven permanently. Even the reapers
couldn't get into Heaven anymore to put new souls in. And that
was the last I heard of her. After everything we tried to do,
she betrayed me and that opened the door for Anubis to screw me
over.
Anyway, demons weren't happy about my attempts. I faced threat
after threat, and challenge after challenge. I overcame them all
whenever demons wanted to overthrow me.
It wasn't until Anubis came along and helped them in exchange
for retaking the throne that they finally succeeded. Not only
did Anubis manage to weasel his way into power again, but he
helped demon-kind finally bring me down from the throne.
Anubis cursed me and turned me into a human with demon power so
that my body always breaks down. My raw demon power overloads my
body, and my regeneration is always working to repair me. On top
of that, Anubis cursed me to essentially never die, so that I
could live my existence in pain forever.
And then I was cast out. Exiled. No longer able to return to
Hell. If I were to die, Heaven wouldn't take me as a demon. And
Hell wouldn't let me back in. I have nowhere to go when I die
except to wander the earth until I inevitable become a vengeful
spirit or worse.
I deal with the pain of my body breaking down. I eventually just
shut off my pain recepters in my body with my family's
disciplined mind training, and then I drink to dull my senses.
Sometimes I barely feel the pain if I get drunk enough. But the
pain isn't really a big deal to me.
Anyway, I wandered the earth for years. I trained my human body,
relearning all my basic powers and how to use them in human
form. It wasn't as easy as using my powers the same way as
before. My human body was different, so my demon power worked
differently than it did before. It wasn't easy, but thankfully I
did learn to use my demon power and learned a few new abilities
in my human form, like how to use magic (weird that this human
body has the power to use magic when I didn't have magic as a
full demon). I also did learn to hold back my demon power a
little bit to reduce the strain on my human body and funnel it
into my regeneration so that my body doesn't break down as
quickly.
Earlier, when I said "As powerful as I was," you may be
wondering why I say that. Well, it's because I can no longer use
my full power. A friend of mine, a holy witch named Clair,
helped me out with a charm that suppresses my power. It's a ring
that I wear that not only suppresses my power though, but also
helps make sure my body doesn't take as much damage from the
demon power coursing through me. Clair seemed interested in
helping me, though I'm not really sure why. At this point, I
consider her a friend. Even if it's completely obnoxious that
she only shows up when she feels like it and never shows up when
I call her.
I hear the people who heard the story of my other half also
heard about one of his new abilities: The Majin Eye. Well,
that's an ability I have too. Let me explain. The Majin Eye is a
demonic power I possess that seems to be tied to my demonic and
deathly power.
My red eye changes as my pupil looks more like a red snake's
eye, and then the white in my eye turns black. When this
happens, my eye radiates my inner self. Anger and hatred radiate
outward from me. I don't fully understand why it radiates with
anger. I never figured out if it was my own anger/hatred or
others' anger/hatred reflected out of my Majin Eye.
In addition to that, I have other powers with that eye. I can
see people's sinful natures. If they're good, they are more
light than dark. If they're evil, they're more dark than light.
So far, no one is purely light or purely dark. And when looking
at their darkness, I can see what sins they've committed.
Nothing specific, just a general sense of who they are. For
example, if someone sins with the sins of greed, I can see that
their sin is greed, but I can't see how they've acted on that
sin or what they've done with it, such as I can't see what
they've done in search of their greed. It only works in a
general sense, but it does give me a good sense of people, and
helps me anticipate what people are going to be like before I
ever talk to them.
The last power it has is to summon the dead spirits of any
essence I absorb (Spiritual or physical). Whether I absorb life
essence or spirit essence, I gain the essence of that person. I
have to absorb that essence and then they become a part of my
Majin Eye. Unlike my other self, I don't use this on living
beings, but on spirits. And I have to use this on spirits,
because I fight a lot of spiritual opponents. The only way to
defeat them is to absorb them into my Majin Eye. Absorbing
spirits is tricky, but so far, I've been able to handle
absorbing spirits of many different kinds. You may be worried
that I'm also absorbing all these hollows and dark spirits...
But don't worry. I don't absorb their corruption or their core
evil. Once they are absorbed, they stop being hollows or dark
spirits, and just become spiritual representations of what they
were originally. They have no self anymore, and they lose their
connection to whatever realm they were a part of.
Now,the human world is strange. The human world in this universe
is littered with things from the spiritual plane. For some
reason, there's a natural phenomena in this world where the
spiritual plane intersects with the human plane on a regular
basis. There have also been rare cases of these intersections
connecting to Spirit World, which is like a spiritual plane
world, but for different kinds of spirits to reside. This kind
of event has been termed The Crossroads Phenomena because people
have said that the intersection is like two roads that bend and
intersect when space-time pulls the two roads together at one
point which becomes the intersection that temporarily overlaps
the spiritual and physical plane.
There are two main things that come into the physical plane
during these intersections. The first is Obsadite, a black rock
that comes from the spiritual plane. It's pretty much worthless
to humans. But they haven't figured out that it can be used to
contain spiritual energy, whether it's jailing spiritual
creatures or containing spiritual energy leaking out from the
intersections of the human world and spirit plane. Most humans
think it's just the black rock that hides what they really want,
and have to mine through. They don't even have a special name
for it, and most just refer to it as spirit plane rocks.
But what they really want is the Emerald Azurite gems that is
sometimes found in these stones, which are strangely always
perfectly spherical. I have heard that some have found Crimson
Sapphire gems in some cases that are far stronger than normal
Emerald Azurite, but these are super rare. Emerald Azurite is
actually a very common bi-product whenever the physical and
spiritual world intersect here. And the reason people want it is
because science here absolutely depends on it. The special form
of azurite powers almost all technology in this world. Not only
do the gems have enough energy to power almost any technology
developed by humans, but these gems also feed energy to spirits.
It's theorized that Emerald Azurite is what the spirits eat in
this world. It's assumed they eat it for the energy it gives
off. And usually, in order to get it, you have to mine it out of
slabs of Obsadite which have a ton of Green Azurite gems within
it. There are places in this world where you can find slabs of
Obsadite as large as 5 story building. There are a few places
where you can see fields of it, all of which have Green Azurite
gems within. For example, our Grand Canyon has entire fields of
slabs of obsadite and Emerald Azurite, and it's enough that
there is mining going on there 24/7 and they never run out of
Emerald Azurite to mine.
But the humans don't call the Azurite as such, they call it
"Green Phantasm" for whatever reason. And as I mentioned, they
just call the Obsadite worthless, and dismiss it as spirit plane
rocks.
Green Phantasm, as they call it, is the most important mineral
in human society. Everything from TVs to lights, to elemental
energy is generated by these stones. People light fires with it,
people cool things with it (such as fridges and freezers), and
they even use it for heating and air conditioning. It's a bit
different from the electricity based technology that is used in
many other worlds like my own world. This world almost
completely uses green azurite for almost everything, and any
Crimson Sapphire that's found is used in big deal top secret
government projects.
It's pretty darn useful, and it feeds the spirits of the
environment. It's pretty much a literal definition of "green
energy." It doesn't hurt the environment, and it strengthens the
spirits that govern the workings of this world.
However, one danger of the constant intersections and the raw
amount of this stuff that ends up in the human world is a
dangerous level of spirits that enter our world. Some are good,
and some are not. But the main spirit we deal with is not
spirits that most universes have. It's a naturally occuring
malevolent spirit similar to a hollow, but born on the spiritual
plane. These spirits are called specters. Not as dangerous as
dark spirits, but pretty close. And unlike hollows, specters
cause all kinds of issues, usually intersecting elements of the
spiritual plane and the physical plane. I've seen all kinds of
specters with all kinds of effects. Some have an acidic presence
like hollows, but some can cause storms when they appear, or
some cause extreme heat or cold. They can also dangerously
effect Emerald Azurite, to the point where technology fails or
even explodes when they show up in an area. They're as dangerous
to the environment as they are to people (and that's pretty
dangerous). They eat souls just like hollows, but also eat
emerald azurite. Only trained people take them on because of how
dangerous they are. The governments have special people on
payroll to deal with these kinds of threats.
No one knows what spawns specters. It's theorized that the
intersections that leave spiritual plane things on our plane
also puts our stuff on the spiritual plane, which causes adverse
effects on the spiritual plane in the same way stuff from the
spirit plane can affect our world. Another theory is that the
intersections cause spiritual corruption when energies from the
spiritual plane meld with the energies of the living world,
which culminates in the formation of specters. Those are just a
few theories though. I don't even know what causes it, since
specters were not something I knew anything about in my old
world, and I don't think any of my other selves have encountered
them either.
Me, I fight specters. I'm one of the few that can actually keep
them from regenerating by absorbing them into my Majin Eye. Even
if you obliterate them, sometimes people can't fully destroy
them, and the specter will eventually return. It's completely
obnoxious... So far, I'm one of the only permanent solutions to
specters. I've been doing this job for many, many years. No
spectre has beaten me yet.
I normally freelance and travel to take out specters. It's
technically not illegal to work alone, but highly ill-advised
for people to take on specters without government support. But
I'm not a normal human. And at this point, the government is
aware of that, because spectre hunters have been trying to
recruit me for years. I always refused. At least, I used to.
It all changed when I met her: Mika Watson. Someone I saved from
a spectre. At the time, she was living a normal life. She was in
college, and learning to be a refiner of Emerald Azurite (A
common job in this world, as refiners are in high demand and are
required to process Emerald Azurite into the more concetrated
form to make it last longer). So, one day, she was attacked
while mining Emerald Azurite for her college class. The spectre
originally appeared to steal the Emerald Azurite and started
attacking the people who were trying to take it from the
creature. It followed her as one of the last survivors until I
managed to appear, defeat it, and then absorb it into my Majin
Eye.
Now, let me explain something. The anger and hatred in my Majin
Eye puts a pressure and a fear into everyone. It doesn't matter
who they are. Humans always react the same way. Even demons
freak out when I reveal my Majin Eye, that's how powerful it is.
At least, that's what I thought.
Even after seeing my Majin Eye, she didn't react to it. She told
me later that she didn't see the anger and hatred coming from me
due to how stressed she was from the situation. Whether or not
that is true, I don't know. My anger and fear isn't just
something you tune out. It's not that I doubt her, because I
truly believe she believes what she said. Maybe I just can't
believe someone would accept me despite the darkness within me
when my Majin Eye is almost guaranteed to scare people off. Even
my best friends like Nightbane Shiraki, a vampire/human hybrid,
have a hard time around my Majin Eye. But I gave up some time
ago trying to figure out why Mika doesn't react to it.
Anyway, after the incident, she and I started hanging out
together. And soon we started dating. After a few years of
dating, we got engaged but we haven't had time to get married
yet because of work. I can't really explain it, but something
about her happy and cheery personality always brings out good in
me. And she loves me despite me being a demon, which most humans
would never accept demons. I tried to warn her that I'm not like
humans, and that I have a lot of darkness in me that should
scare her. I even warned her that my demon side makes feeling
positive emotions like love difficult, and I can't guarantee I'd
be able to love her the way she loves me. She doesn't care what
I am, or what evil is in me. She accepts me and stands beside me
no matter what. She has even been researching how to restore my
demon body because she cares that much about me and supports me.
I'm not an emotional person. I try to be as good as I can, but
as a demon, I have a hard time with any emotions other than the
negative ones demons use. It's just a fact of life for demons
that love is something we don't really feel or even understand
most of the time. But Mika not only doesn't care that I have
trouble showing my love for her, she also understands me better
than I do, because she can tell what I'm feeling just by looking
at me despite the fact most people say my expression never
changes. Something about my eyes reflecting my emotions... But I
don't get it, and neither do most people.
I'll say it simply: She's too good for me.
Mika changed careers after the spectre attack that nearly killed
her. Now she works for the Spectre Hunters, a group that works
alongside the police. If the police encounter a spectre or
supernaturals, or signs of one, they call the Hunters. There are
two sections of hunters: The Spectre Hunter and the Meta-Human
Hunters. The name says it all. The Spectre hunters hunt specters
and investigate incidents with specters, and the Meta Hunters
hunt supernaturals threatening or killing humans.
Mika and I head our own team of Spectre hunters, which I joined
to stay close to Mika and help her on the job (After years of
them trying to recruit me, they only managed to get me because
Mika joined them). I joined for her, not for the government.
Last thing I wanted was for something to happen to her because I
was too stubborn to not join the group I denied so many times. I
stay on the team to protect her and to help offer her my
support.
On our team, we have a man named Nightbane Shiraki, a
vampire/human hybrid. Which is weird considering the one in my
world was evil. But this one is a genius and a pretty good ice
user. I actually helped teach him my Darkfire skills, just
because I wanted to help him grow stronger. He wanted to train
to use his skills better without having to rely on superficial
powerups like dragon blood that he was offered once. He likes
being more human than vampire, and he will do whatever he can to
stay that way. He believes that being human makes him the best
he can be, and I can respect that. Despite being weak and
embracing that, he's actually one of the strongest people I
know. Not for raw physical power, but because he has a mental
strength not many have. I respect him for sticking to his
beliefs. In my opinion, he's stronger than anyone else I know.
I've also never seen his strategies fail. Oh, and he's only one
of the only people who likes sweets as much as I do.
The other one is Goten Uchiha. Not too different from the one I
trained in my world. Major difference is that this Goten wasn't
mutated by my and Vendetta's power like the one in my world was.
Goten in our old world needed help overcoming an illness, and
Vendetta and I offered up our blood to the doctor helping Goten
by enhancing Goten with both our power using plasmites. It
altered his appearance a bit when he got the plasmite. This
Goten doesn't have the same look though. Our Goten got blond
hair after his powerup, which I don't know where that came from.
But this Goten looks more how Goten was when I first met him,
with black hair and normal eyes (except when he uses his
Sharingan which is silver instead of red, also similar to our
Goten). Goten is a swordsman, and he uses chakra sword abilities
to cut through spirits. And with his divine state, he can
anticipate and dodge attacks without thinking. His power is also
the only power we've seen that can permanently destroy specters
besides mine. His Sharingan and silver chakra has a weird
purification effect that completely wipes out specters, and does
a lot of damage to dark spirits and hollows. The kid is a
genuine prodigy (Though he'd never admit it, and just say he's a
talentless lump), and the only one I've met that eats as much as
I do. He has a love for pizza that rivals my own.
Next on our team is Kristiel. She's a cupid (A type of love
angel that blesses romance in others) who's our healer and
energy purify-ing expert. I don't know why an angel started
traveling with a demon like me, but she joined our group and
doesn't care about me being a demon. She's more of an aftermath
person, who heals the injured, and purifies areas corrupted by
corrupted spiritual power. Whether it's specters, hollows or
dark spirits, she purifies any trace of them left behind which
reduces the risk of them regenerating and reappearing later, or
spawning another spectre (sometimes leftover energy does spawn
new specters). She is very friendly, and she and Mika almost
instantly became best friends. Ever since they first hugged each
other in greeting, they've been friends since.
The last person on our team is Milos Sojikov. He's a Russian guy
who is part of our group, but also is head of the Bratva in
Russia (which is basically the Russian Mafia). Milos is kind of
like our expert in criminal activity. He has contacts all over
the world, and he's a close friend of mine. Milos is a werepyre,
and holds the title of Wolfwing XIV (a title passed to the
strongest werepyres in the world). After my friend Erimus
trained Milos, Milos eventually surpassed Erimus and became the
new Wolfwing. Now, Erimus just keeps training to pass the time,
and proudly watches his student. Erimus was a friend of mine who
was turned into a werepyre, and I helped him break free of that
werepyre's control. Even a werepyre isn't enough of a fight to
challenge me. Erimus's werepyre teacher was pretty dangerous,
but I managed to kill him (But not before he turned Erimus into
a werepyre). That werepyre was rotten to the core, and I'm glad
I got Erimus away from him before that guy turned Erimus into
something just as rotten.
Overall, we are pretty happy with our dynamic. We work well
together, and we each have our specialties. Though in the end,
I'm really still only there for Mika. I care about my teammates
and all, but Mika is the only real reason I stay with the
Hunters.
Main Story
The Dream Theme: Corridors of Time (
HTML https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYoGFvn_fOk)
The New Dragon Theme: Lord of the Shadow Stream (
HTML https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL_sOm0RT48
)
A New Discovery Theme: Surrounded by Mystery (
HTML https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gNLEZSuvSA
)
Navigating A New World Theme: Gus Trickle (
HTML https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMreFLbjnPU
)
Second Dream Theme: Subete ga Owatta (
HTML https://youtu.be/Ayfi5ezwISM?si=FDJF0_EwbPBT6NUE
)
Dinner with Friends Theme: Sanpo (
HTML https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuLWRzvFFJI
)
The Nightmare Theme: I am Exdeath (
HTML https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztV0ofqgo_s
)
I was close to losing all hope.
It had been two weeks since Mika disappeared. No one knows what
happened, and there was no signs of struggle anywhere that she
could have been when she disappeared. I know Mika wouldn't just
leave without saying anything. She almost never goes anywhere
without letting me know where she's going for reasons just like
this. We haven't been able to track her cell phone, or anything.
I can't even sense her anymore, which really worries me because
it could mean that she's dead or somewhere I can't track her. It
was like she just dropped off the face of the earth.
The only hint I had to finding her was a dream I kept having
since she disappeared. I don't know how, but I think someone or
something is trying to lead me to her.
The dream starts with me and Mika on a bus. However, Mika isn't
really Mika in this dream. Not only is this Mika in the dream
much less happy and cheery, but she has a weird energy to her
and her hair spikes up due to some weird aura. I don't notice it
in the dream, as I seem to interact with her like I interact
with Mika as if she were. I started calling this weird version
"Dream Mika" or "Fake Mika."
Anyway, in the dream, we're riding a bus, sitting side by side.
She looks out the window and talks about a dream she had (Yeah,
I know, a dream about someone talking about a dream. It's some
Inception level stuff). I ask her about it, and she tells me.
She sees an explosion first. Then she sees fire and the claws of
a dragon. It's a strange vision Dream Mika has. It's not just a
dream to Dream Mika, but some kind of vision. Then she talks
about hearing voices from a dark pit of obsadite and some kind
of heat haze over the pit.
"Every second is an eternity."
That is the last thing Dream Mika says before I wake up.
I don't know what it means, even now. It's weird, because in the
dream, I don't have control of it like I do with my normal
dreams. My disciplined mind training should let me control my
mind when I'm dreaming, but it's like I lose control whenever
Dream Mika shows up. I'm stuck thinking differently, like I'm
not myself. I don't recognize that Dream Mika is not the real
Mika, and even now, I can't really place why Dream Mika is so
different from the real Mika if the idea is that she's supposed
to be imitating Mika. Or maybe that's the point is that she's
showing she's not the real Mika? But then why does she look like
Mika and try to make me think she's Mika? I have no clue... And
I'm starting to worry that if I don't understand the dream soon,
then I may lose Mika forever.
Today, Nightbane and I took the bus to go to a research lab.
From our information, apparently they were researching a new
kind of Emerald Azurite (or again, Green Phantasm as they call
it). Apparently, people had gone missing during patrols and they
were worried specters were behind it. They weren't sure what was
happening, but I was sent to investigate it in case there were
specters. I didn't get much more info than that, or any
explanation on why they were worried there might be specters. I
don't even know where they're actually keeping this new Azurite
they're working on.
Nightbane and I took the bus to the mountain top research lab.
We had to go there to report to them we were going to
investigate their research on Emeral Azurite. It was unusual,
but my car (a modified La Voiture Noire) broke down during a
previous mission. and I hadn't fully been able to fix it yet.
Anyone who knows me, knows how much I care about my car (Well,
it's pretty high, but not as high as how much I care for the
people close to me), especially considering how much I paid for
it. I was already nervous enough as it is since I am not a fan
of public transportation.
When we started getting close to the mountain top, a site
chilled me to the bone. I saw an explosion at that the mountain
coming from the research building. A large fire dragon comes out
of the top of the building, and starts flying around the lab
after the explosion died down.
Nightbane and I jump out the window of the bus to get off the
ground. We both spread our wings and start flying toward the
mountain top we could see the broken top of the research lab,
and the rubble left behind.
My blood was running cold, and you could probably guess why. The
bus, the explosion, and now the fangs of a dragon. I'd be a fool
to not notice that the scene was playing out the way Dream Mika
described it.
I get ready, and race toward the dragon. Right now, this scene
was my closest clue to finding Mika and this could be the moment
that defines whether or not I save her.
Nightbane puts his arm in front of me, blocking me.
Nightbane: What are you doing?! He asks me, seemingly noticing
me acting out of character.
Me: I have to stop that thing. It's going to destroy the lab and
who knows what else! That's my excuse, but it was a complete
lie, and I think Nightbane figured that out pretty quick.
Nightbane: Analyze the situation before you jump right in, man!
Me: What are you talking about? I asked him, not having the
patience to stop and listen when I should be trying to figure
out what was going on.
Nightbane: Look at where it broke out. And look at the air. I
don't think it's a threat. I think it just wanted out. He says.
It took me a moment to figure out what he was noticing. Look at
the rubble. It's not burned at all. That thing broke out of the
facility, It didn't burn or melt it's way out. And the people
inside, you can hear them and they're not being burned alive.
Also, the air around it, it's normal, not heated.
I stopped for a moment. But not for the reason Nightbane wanted
me to. I thought about the dream. The next part of it was about
a pit with voices. And a heat haze over that pit. This wasn't
it, but everything else was lining up. I knew there was
something I was missing.
Nightbane: It's like your Dragon of the Darkness Flame.
Actually, it's the Mortal Flame Dragon. If I recall correctly,
and I do, it's the mortal world version of the Dragon of the
Darkness Flame you bonded with from the Spirit World. He says.
Me: No. It's neither. It's a spirit dragon like those two, but
it's different. It's something else. I say, analyzing the
dragon. Like you said, it's not burning the air around it, and
it's not melting anything. The Mortal Flame and the Darkness
Flame would have vaporized most of the mountain by now. I'm not
even sure that's fire that makes up the dragon.
Nightbane: You try to contain the dragon... Communicate with it
or something. I'm going to investigate. He says as he flies
through the new sky light the dragon made in the research
facility.
Meanwhile, I go up to the dragon. It turns and looks at me.
Pretty sure it was glaring at me.
Me: I'm looking for someone... I'm hoping you have clues as to
where she is. I say to it softly. I didn't know if it would
understand me, but I had to try. Mika was the only thing on my
mind right now. I didn't care at all about the research
facility.
The dragon just keeps glaring at me. It was like it was waiting
for me to make a move. Or... Maybe it was sizing me up?
I look to the dragon. Me: You want something from me? Or is this
just freedom from the facility? I asked it.
It growled at me, but didn't make any movements.
Me: What are you? Some kind of spirit dragon? I asked it. Again,
it didn't answer me. Come on! What do you want?! Answer me! I
yelled at it, getting impatient.
The dragon didn't react to me again. Then I figured out why. The
Darkness Flame in me pulsed from within my spirit. I couldn't
tell, but the two dragons were communicating. I couldn't tell
because I can't communicate with the Darkness Flame. But I was
certain there was some kind of vibing going on between the two
dragons.
Kindron: Darn it... This is getting annoying. I say to myself.
But for now, I was at least keeping the dragon from being a
threat to anyone else.
But then, as though finishing a conversation, the dragon flies
at me and into my body. I felt it the moment it reached me. A
piece of crimson azurite just fused to my core. That must have
been the dragon spirit's core. And it just boosted my spirit
energy considerably. As if I needed more power... What I really
need is a way for this body to handle that power, not throwing
more power on top of it.
I call the new flames I possessed. They weren't flames. They
were more like the raw energy from red azurite, but radiating
uncontrolled like a flame. It looked like flames, but the energy
was more like some kind of spirit pressure given off the crimson
azurite. I blasted a rock to test the flames, and the flames
completely obliterated the rock. It was like some kind of
entropy power. The energy was condensed enough it could destroy
matter. I decided to name the dragon, now a part of me, the
Azurite Dragon. Which meant I had two different fire dragons a
part of me. Three if you count my experience with the mortal
flame when I absorbed some of it once.
However, I wasn't happy with this new power. The dragon was part
of me, and it seems not able to communicate like the other
dragon spirits like the Darkness Flame and the Mortal Flame. My
chance at trying to figure out how this connected to the dream
just went up in smoke. It was possible I could have been
reaching trying to understand the dream, but it all just fit
together too perfectly. I had been feeling weird ever since
stepping on the bus, but now it was all hitting me at once. I
couldn't get that dream out of my head.
I think for a moment. Pit... It was once said the Dragon of the
Darkness Flame came from the deepest pits of Spirit World. Could
one of those pits be what the dream is talking about? Then the
heat haze would make sense. The Dragon of the Darkness Flame
definitely would create a heat haze, and if there are spirits in
those pits, then maybe that explains the voices... But how does
it connect to this incident with the Azurite Dragon?
I table my thoughts for now. I realized I needed to tell
Nightbane about my dream later so he can analyze it. I fly in
through the whole in the roof and land near the group. Nightbane
was talking to the researcher who ran the place. It was an old
lady, who was about 4 feet tall.
I look at Nightbane. Me: So... Catch me up.
Nightbane looks over to me. Nightbane: They were testing a new
kind of "phantasm" and how it reacts to normal "phantasm." This
test was supposed to be normal, but a piece of it turned crimson
and then the dragon came out of it. He says to me. He emphasizes
phantasm because humans call it that, and hates that I am the
only one that calls it Azurite.
Me: Well... It fused to me. And I can confirm it's a piece of
Crimson Azurite that made up the core of the dragon. Whatever
you did must have mutated the normal Emerald Azurite into
Crimson Azurite.
Researcher: Azurite? What the heck are you talking about? She
says, not understanding why I was calling it Azurite.
I sigh. Me: You humans call it Phantasm, but it's actually
called Azurite.
Nightbane: Yeah, don't mind him. He has a kind of a weird
perception of things. He says to the researcher.
Me: Let's just get to the bottom of this. Show me the new
Azurite.
Researcher: I'm afraid the new phantasm is gone. It vanished
when the dragon appeared.
I think for a moment. Me: So what... Did the dragon eat the
Azurite? Or did the Azurite fuse to the normal Azurite to create
crimson azurite.
Researcher: That wasn't crimson phantasm. The energy signature
was different from any kind of phantasm we've ever seen. It may
have been red, but it was something new.
I start to get impatient. Me: Fine. Then take us to the research
so we can get more answers. I say impatiently, crossing my arms.
Nightbane: Dude... What is with you? He says to me, somewhat
concerned.
Me: Something about this incident could lead us to finding Mika.
I'll explain later. I say to Nightbane. That was all he needed
to know to understand why I was acting the way I was.
Researcher: Who? She says, not knowing who I was talking about.
I look to her. Me: Mika Watson, she went missing a few weeks
ago... But before that, I have a question. Does the phrase "Heat
haze" and "voices in a pit" mean anything to you? I ask her,
confusing everyone including Nightbane.
Researcher: Maybe you could ask the research facility? I have no
idea what you're referring to. And I'm sorry, the name doesn't
sound familiar. She says to me. Even without my Majin Eye, I
could tell she was telling the truth. Something about the
researcher just made me think she wasn't the kind of person
who'd lie easily.
Nightbane looks to the Researcher. Nightbane: The research site.
That's where we were supposed to be heading. You guys were
supposed to tell us where it was so we could investigate the
specter suspicions.
Researcher: Indeed. Follow me. She says as she leads Nightbane
and me down into the facility's lower floors.
As we follow the researcher, Nightbane looks over to me.
Nightbane: What is with you today? And what about that question?
That wasn't random, I know that much. How does this connect to
Mika?
Me: I'll explain later. But I have a suspicion this new Azurite
research may have been the reason Mika disappeared. I say to
Nightbane.
Nightbane: So how do you want to proceed? Times like this, I'm
glad Nightbane is smart enough that I don't have to explain
every little thing to him. Most people would want to know what
my reason was for saying this would relate to Mika, but
Nightbane trusted that I knew what I was doing. His mind was
probably already figuring out what was going on in my head.
Me: Investigate. We'll do our job and see what turns up. There
has to be more clues... And we also have a job to do while we're
investigating. I say as we walk.
As we enter a room, there was a teleporter there, fueled by
Emerald Azurite.
Researcher: This will take you to the Research Lab. She says as
she starts working on the computer. I'm letting them know you're
coming. So I'll transfer you over as soon as your ready.
I nod and walk onto the transporter. Nightbane steps on behind
me. Nightbane seemed a lot more invested now that this case
might help us find Mika. Or at least, I think. He may have just
wanted to see this new Azurite research. Knowing him, he was
probably geeking out over all this.
I stay silent as Nightbane started talking to the researcher. I
wait and stay silent, more interested in trying to investigate
further, but Nightbane was doing his own thing at the moment.
After a few minutes of talking, Nightbane and I are transferred
to the research facility by way of the Azurite teleporter.
We end up in a facility. I look out the window at the skyline. I
couldn't see much, but I saw a city in the background... With a
familiar skyline. I was certain now. That skyline belongs to the
last town Mika and I were in when she disappeared.
Nightbane: Okay... This is getting freaky. He says as he sees
the skyline. It seems he also recognized the skyline. You're
going to have to explain to me what's going on, and how this
connects to Mika. Going back to the town Mika disappeared from
can't be coincidence. You know I don't believe in coincidence...
He says, finally succumbing to his curiosity about why I was
doing and saying the things I was.
Me: I know. I said simply. I was preparing myself to explain
everything, and knew I'd have to soon. But for now, I tried to
focus on the mission at hand.
It didn't take long before the researchers met us and started
walked us out the main door. They had a floating AI bot leading
us since they didn't know what was dangerous and the AI seemed
to be the only one that could go into the area without
disappearing.
We walked out to meet the AI bot. There was a road leading to
town, and along the road were fields. But this wasn't like a
wheat field. These were fields of Azurite and Obsadite. Mutated
variations of it.
AI: Greetings... I am the AI unit tasked with guiding you
through our area. Please be advised that non-disclosure
agreements are in place, and you are not to speak of this
research to anyone.
Nightbane: What the heck is this? He says as he sees the fields.
Me: It's what it is... A farm. A farm of a new type of Azurite.
They have fields of this stuff. Even the Obsadite has been
mutated. I say, walking closer to the distorted air waves given
off by chunks of Obsadite and Azurite. I didn't talk about
Obsadite much since people didn't really care much about it.
AI: Azurite? Obsadite? It says to me, curiously. Nightbane had
to explain again that I call it Azurite, where they call it
phantasm. And he also had to explain what I call Obsadite that
they think is normal rock.
Nightbane: It's... definitely the new research. He says,
stepping closer. But I stop him from getting closer.
Me: Don't get too close. That distortion coming off the
Azurite... It could be dangerous. I say as I look to the
researchers. This isn't normal Azurite, is it?
AI: No. It's called Distortion Phantasm. It's a much stronger
variation the facility found and cultivated. It explains.
Me: These fields. I can sense them. They go on for miles... I
say, a bit angry.
AI: Indeed... When this research goes public, this could replace
the original phantasm as the dominant power source to
technology. It explains.
I growl a bit. Me: And you people didn't understand a thing
about what you're cultivating here?! How could you people even
think this was okay?!
Nightbane looks at me again. Nightbane: What is it? What's
wrong? He says to me, not sensing what I was.
I put my hand on one of the Distorted Azurite pieces, sensing
what was inside it, and I could feel the Azurite dragon in me
resonating with it too. Me: You're not just creating Azurite.
You're creating specters! This distortion isn't coming from the
Obsadite or the Azurite! It's coming from things contained
within that are being born because of your foolish desire to
play God! I say angrily. I then calm down. I let go of the
Azurite and turn to Nightbane and the AI. This is why people are
disappearing here. Things inside these are getting out and must
be roaming the fields. Thankfully, I think the distortion is
keeping them contained in the fields, but that may not last
forever. The Azurite Dragon was only one of the things born from
this research.
Nightbane, who was still standing far enough away to not be
affected, seemed to understand why I was annoyed.
Nightbane: This is supposed to be the next level of Phantasm
research. And you're saying what? That it's creating new
specters?
Me: Yes. And much more powerful ones than any we've seen
previously. This blue Azurite, what you call Distorted Azurite,
is far more dangerous than you realize.
AI: Oh dear... I don't think the researchers accounted for this.
I sigh. I'll have to investigate the fields alone.
Nightbane: I'm going with you. He says confidently.
Me: No. It's too dangerous. The atmosphere is toxic further in
the fields from what I can sense, and there may be specters out
in the fields waiting. Those that disappeared have probably been
devoured by specters, or killed by the atmosphere, or both. I
explain.
Nightbane sighs, but walks back toward the building.
Meanwhile, I go out into the fields. The AI tries to follow me,
but can't seem to get through the distorted atmosphere to get
close enough to see anything.
I walked through, looking at every cultivated piece of Distorted
Azurite. I couldn't believe how they made so much of this. Where
did this all even come from? What were they planning to use it
for? What happens if this stuff goes out into the world? What
kind of damage could it do? I couldn't imagine how dangerous
this stuff could be in the wrong hands.
I was so glad I had the demon god, Anubis's, curse right now.
And that is a sentence I never thought I'd EVER say. Cursed to
forever live through my regeneration. It meant all the damage
this did to my body was regenerating. Simply breathing in this
atmosphere was painful, and I felt like my lungs were eroding
away. Even I couldn't handle the dark energy emitting from this
haze.
But what I saw deeper in to the field chilled me to the bone.
This was one of the few times I actually felt fear myself.
I'm pretty sure I was in the center of the field, and there was
a huge pit in the center. It was like part of the field had just
been consumed by something and left nothing behind. I couldn't
even see or sense the bottom. But... I could sense things in the
pit. Voices... Screaming in pain and terror. I could hear the
voices coming from the specters around me, as though they were
acknowledging the pit, telling me not to go down into it or I
wouldn't come back. It started to make sense now. I think the
specters were actually trying to prevent people from coming this
deep into the fields.
But what really got me? You guessed it, it was probably the next
step of the dream... The pit with the heat haze and the voices.
I could feel the heat, but it wasn't heat. It was distortion.
The distorted energy from the Distorted Azurite was more
condensed here. That's the haze that Dream Mika was talking
about. I was certain of it.
I ran back to the facility. I knew what I had to do next. But I
needed to prepare. And question these people. I couldn't fathom
what I just felt. The voices, the specters, the pits darkness...
Something big was happening here. And I needed to know what.
Once I got back, I started coughing once I got out of the
atmosphere. It wasn't just that though. The raw emotions running
through my mind made me sick to my stomach. I was close to
finding Mika, but I could sense it... Something bad was waiting
for me at the bottom of that pit.
I fell to the ground, coughing and trying to get my bearings
back. Nightbane ran over to me and helped me inside. A few of
the researchers came to me and tried to stabilize me.
Apparently, they had medical staff on hand in case any of the
Distorted Azurite were harmful to their health.
AI: I could not maintain visual... Did you find anything? It
asked me.
I wheezed, trying to talk, but not being able to. After a moment
on the oxygen machine, I managed to get enough in me to talk.
Me: There's a pit... A huge pit in the center of the field.
Specters all around it. Even they're afraid of it. It was like a
giant hole going down into the darkness. I am pretty sure that
pit goes into Spirit World. I couldn't even get up right now,
but I look at the researchers. What kind of research have you
done? What is that pit?! Why are you people spawning specters?!
I say angrily.
Male Researcher: We have no idea... The fields are just that.
Fields. There shouldn't be any kind of specters, or any kind of
pit, let alone one going to the Spirit Plane. He says.
Kindron: You can't create something like that by accident! That
pit was bigger than this whole facility! And it was in the very
center of the field! I yell at them.
Nightbane comes over to me to try and calm me down. Nightbane:
Calm down.
Male Researcher: I assure you, we don't know. There was no "pit"
when we started this research. They say, clearly not knowing
what I was talking about.
I look at the researcher suspiciously, but I knew the truth deep
down. He had no idea what was going on. He was as clueless as
everyone else.
I stand up, finally strong enough to stand again. Me: I'm going
back. I have to go into that pit and investigate where it goes.
Nightbane: Are you kidding?! That atmosphere is dangerous,
according to you! What happens if you into the heart of it! He
then stops. Mika?
Me: Yeah... I'm pretty sure that pit holds the clues to Mika's
whereabouts I have been searching for. I may finally figure out
what happened to her. I say as I clench my fist, ready to face
the challenge of whatever may lie in the pit.
Nightbane: I'm going with you. He says, standing up confidently.
And this time, you're not talking me out of it.
I look to Nightbane. Me: Look at me... I barely handled that
environment. There's no way you'd survive.
Male Researcher: Actually... There may be a way. He says as he
looks to us. We have been working on a special suit to navigate
the cloud of haze that surrounds the field. It was designed
specifically to keep one safe. And it's powered by crimson
azurite. He explains.
Nightbane: And would you guys let me use it?
Me: No. Nightbane, you can't rely on it.
Nightbane turns to me. Nightbane: You think I want to abandon
Mika?! Whatever is going on, we need to take it on together.
This is the one time you cannot do this alone. Don't make me
have to call in backup. He says to me.
Male Researcher: We can have the suit ready... But we don't know
if it will handle the environment. Let alone what might be in
this "pit."
Nightbane looks to the researcher. Nightbane: You have drones
right? Send drones in. Get as much data on the pit as you can.
If you can image anything in the pit, it will help us plan how
to handle it next. We don't even know how big this pit is.
Me: Or if it's spreading. I say.
Nightbane: Why would it be spreading? He asks me.
Me: If this azurite has evolved to a level where it's distorting
space and time, then it's possible that the oldest of the
Azurite could have opened a tear in space-time that goes to the
Spirit World. If that's the case, it's possible that once these
Azurite pieces mature, they'll cause more tears, causing the pit
to spread and get bigger until it consumes the entirety of the
fields. It probably started where you cultivated the first
piece, and now that those around it are reaching a certain
level, they're also causing tears in space-time. So eventually,
it's possible that all these distorted Azurite fields could be
consumed by this tear in space-time. I explain.
The male researcher and Nightbane both stop in fear.
Me: So... We have to find out what's going on, and then find a
way to dispose of this Azurite before it does irreparable
damage. The world already suffers from enough problems with
intersections with the Spirit Plane. Something like this could
be a major disaster if we don't fix it. Imagine if the Spirit
Plane becomes permanently fused with our world. I further
explain.
Male Researcher: I'll get the drones ready. We have a few we
designed to go into the fields. I'll see what data I can get. He
says as he goes into another room.
It took hours, but they finally got drones in the air, and out
into the fields. However, they barely got into the pit before we
lost contact. We couldn't get any images from inside the pit.
Nightbane: It looks like we're going to have to go in blind. I
hate going in blind... He says, annoyed. I normally don't get
anxious about going in without knowing what to expect, but this
was one of the few times I was silently agreeing with Nightbane.
Once Nightbane was in the suit designed to withstand the
atmosphere, the male researcher gives us both watches.
Male Researcher: You have 7 hours of power in that suit. If you
don't make it back before then, the suit could die out and you'd
be in trouble. It could last longer, but 7 hours is all we can
guarantee. And that's as long as the suit isn't damaged. He says
to Nightbane, who nods. Nightbane and I both synchronize our
watches. Also, know that the suit has built in jets. Just in
case you have to fly your way out of the pit. He explains to
Nightbane, who nods again. He clearly was trying to adjust to
wearing the suit. It was a bit clunky, and not very mobile. But
Nightbane always adapts quickly, so I didn't really worry about
it. I was more worried about our time limit. Not that I thought
we'd be out for seven hours., but I think I was more worried
about what would happen if the power didn't last that long.
Nightbane was breathing heavily as it looked like he was walking
around in a space suit. Thankfully, he'd have his ice powers to
create platforms to ride once we got outside. So I didn't think
he'd have trouble with the suit's limited mobility.
Once Nightbane and I got outside, we start walking into the
field. While walking to the pit (or riding a flying ice
surfboard in Nightbane's case), which took about 20 minutes, I
explained the dream to Nightbane, and how everything had played
right into the dream. He started to understand how everything
was falling into place, and why I was suddenly so anxious about
finding Mika. He had to use the speakers in his suit to project
his voice since the suit was pressurized and didn't emit sound,
or anything really.
I felt like this was my last chance, and if I didn't find her, I
might never see her again.
Once we got to the pit, Nightbane and I looked at each other. I
spread out my demon wings, and Nightbane used ice wings to
imitate his vampire wings since he couldn't spread his vampire
wings due to the suit. The specters started gathering around us,
trying to tell us not to go into the pit. It was obvious they
were trying to protect us. See, not all spirits are bad. It's
rare, but sometimes there are good specters, and since these
didn't seem to have any malicious intent, they seemed to
genuinely be trying to help us.
However, our path was set, and there was no changing our minds
now. Once we started flying down, I look to Nightbane.
Me: We do what we have to find Mika. And seal this hole up. But
if we reach 7 hours, you have to leave. No arguments. I explain.
Nightbane: What about you?
Me: I'm fine. Anubis's curse and all. One of the few times I can
use it to my advantage. I say as we fly down.
We fly through what appears to be a portal. Suddenly, we're in
what appears to be a large cave. The top of the cave was blocked
off by rock, and the ground was dirt. We could see pretty far,
and it was obvious this was not going to be as easy as we
thought. There was ground as far as the eye could see, and in
the distance, we could see what looked like creatures moving
around.
As we look around, surveying, I look to Nightbane. Me: We're
going to have to split up. Keep a close eye on your timer. If it
gets back to an hour and a half, head back.
Nightbane: Understood. I guess we'd better get to it. He says as
he flies off in one direction. I fly in another. I fly into the
distance, and see what looked like prison cells built in grids.
Each cell was designed for one person. And most of them were
full of people. No... Not people... Souls...
Suddenly, I figured it out. I wasn't in Spirit World. The
atmosphere was toxic and burned away my lungs... And the souls.
I was in Hell. Literal hell.
But... That was supposed to be impossible for me. I was never
supposed to be able to return here after my exile. Hell itself
was supposed to reject me if I ever tried to come back.
I didn't have time to think about it. It had to be something to
do with the Distorted Azurite. But I needed to move. Because for
the first time in weeks, I could sense Mika. And honestly, that
scared me given where I was. There's absolutely no reason Mika
should be here if this is hell. She's not evil, and there's no
way she made a deal with a demon.
Was Anubis behind this? That's the only solution I could think
of. But why would Anubis kidnap Mika and then not capitilize on
it?
My mind was going a million miles a minute. I fly down, sensing
Mika. I start walking through, looking into each prison cell to
find her. I could sense her, but I couldn't tell where she was.
Hell has a weird way of messing with senses. Including
supernatural senses. I couldn't accurately tell where anything
was. I felt like I was walking through a prison. Screams and
crying were all I could hear.
What happened next, caught me off guard. A demon, one I didn't
know that particularly well, walked up to me with a cheerful
greeting. This demon was named Bariel.
Bariel: Well well... If it ain't the former demon king! How's
life treatin' ya? He says happily. Weird that he didn't seem to
want to kill me.
Me: Bariel right? Hi. I guess. I say nervously.
Bariel: I know what you're thinkin'... "Why ain't he tryin' to
dismember me?" He says, practically reading my mind. I just nod.
Well. It's because ya'd kill me in an instant. He says with a
laugh. Even as a human, your power is far stronger than any I
got.
I sigh in relief. He's actually reasonable. Maybe this won't be
so bad.
Kindron: So you won't try to stop me from whatever I'm doing? I
ask him.
Bariel: Naw... As long as it ain't gonna affect anything. I'll
even help ya if I'm able. He says cheerfully.
I smile. Out of all the demons I could have met, this actually
felt like a turn of good fortune.
Me: I'm looking for someone. Someone who may have ended up here,
but doesn't belong here.
Bariel: Anyone here belongs here. He says with a smile.
I glare at him, which caused him to shiver. Me: No. A friend of
mine DOESN'T belong here. I say to him.
Bariel just looks to me nervously. Bariel: So... What's the
person's name, eh? He says to me.
Me: Mika Watson. She has orange hair and green eyes.
Bariel then realizes who I was talking about. Bariel: Oh... The
alive girl! Yeah! I know who ya're talking about now. He says as
he walks me to a cell.
Me: Alive? I ask curiously. If she were alive, I'd be happy, but
that shouldn't be possible. Humans should die almost instantly
down here. And after two weeks in human time down here? No way
she should still be alive.
Bariel opens the cell. I walk in to see.
It was her. She was cowering in the corner, but I could tell it
was her instantly. I go over to her, but she tries to scramble
away from me in fear.
Mika: NO! Go away! You're not real! She yells at me. I was
confused until I remembered where I was. Hell uses both physical
and mental means to torture people. I knew she'd been physically
tortured by the dried blood on her clothes, and the cuts and
burns she had. Her shoes were gone and she was barefoot. Her
clothes had a lot of cuts and rips as well. It was a wonder her
clothes could cover anything right now.
I turn to Bariel. Me: What did you do to her? I ask coldly.
Bariel: Right... So... I had to use her image of her fiancee to
pretend to rescue her. And then that image I'd keep on while
torturing her. Ain't never tortured a live one before. It's hard
not to kill 'em. He says to me. He realized he screwed up though
as I got angry.
Me: So... A living person shows up in hell, doesn't die from the
environment, and you don't think that's suspicious?! I say
angrily, pure cold rage going through me.
Bariel: Um... Well, man... You know the rules. Anyone down here
has to be tortured. I didn't know, man! I'm sorry! I never saw
the image of who her fiancee was! You gotta believe me! He says
as he backs away from me as I turn to glare at him, my darkness
aura rising.
Everyone around me starts screaming in fear. I didn't know why
until I felt my right eye. My Majin Eye seemed to have activated
on its own in my anger. Whoops...
Bariel tries to run, but I blast him with a large beam of dark
energy. The beam obliterates the cells in its way, and Bariel
and any other demons are consumed into the dark energy like a
black hole. The souls don't go anywhere, and instead just run
off when the beam doesn't absorb them. For a moment before I
deactivate my Majin Eye, I swear I felt some of the energy from
it flood into my other eye... Weird. But I deactivate it and it
fades away into my normal red eyes.
I go over to Mika, trying to calm her, but she was still
panicking thinking I was gonna torture her. Either that or she
saw my display of anger and was afraid of me for that... Which I
wouldn't blame her for. I look to her and put my hand to her
cheek.
Me: Mika... It's me. It's really me. I'm here to rescue you. We
have to go. I say to her. She was still afraid, but she played
along at least.
Just then, I was horrified when my alarm went off. I had set an
alarm for every hour going up to 7 hours in case I needed to
keep track for Nightbane. But... There was a problem. My 5 hour
alarm went off, missing my other alarms. No way it had been 5
hours. It had been 30 minutes at the most...
30 living world minutes... Oh god... I forgot for a moment that
we were in hell. You see, time is different in hell. Time moves
much faster in hell than in the living world. I was used to
living world time, so I wasn't processing the time down here
correctly. Roughly, 1 month on earth is about equal to 10 year
down in hell on average. If I'd have known sooner, I could have
prepared and set my timer differently.
I take Mika's hand and help her out of the cell. I had to move
or Mika and Nightbane would die down here. And then they'd be
stuck here permanently.
Mika tries to walk out onto the dirt, but the dirt was too hot.
She doesn't seem to mind as it burns her skin, but I wasn't
gonna make her walk on the dirt... It wasn't even really dirt,
it was more ashes from the hellfire in other parts of Hell. But
I carry Mika on my back, and carry her as I start running.
Mika looks to me confused. I think she was starting to accept
she was about to be really rescued. Mika: What's wrong? She says
nervously, seeming like she was expecting me to betray her at
any moment but had no power to stop me if I did.
Me: Nightbane is here... He doesn't have much time. I have to
find him and get him back to the surface before the 7 hours we
spend down here is up. I explain quickly as I run. I use my
watch to track Nightbane. Oh, forgot to mention, these watches
have trackers in case Nightbane and I lost track of each other.
Mika: Nightbane? How is he here too? She says, seeming to know
she was in hell where Nightbane shouldn't have been able to get
to.
Me: He has a special suit. It's like a space suit, but designed
for the atmosphere this place has. We didn't know we'd be going
to hell, literally. I say sarcastically.
Soon, we make it to Nightbane. He was fighting demons, and the
ice from the area showed he'd already killed a ton of them. He
was fighting a really strong demon, and his suit seemed damaged.
I run up to Nightbane. Me: Nightbane! I have Mika! Take her back
to the surface! NOW! I say desperately to him.
Nightbane: I have to finish this fight! I'm almost done! He says
to me.
Me: Nightbane! If you don't leave now you and Mika are going to
die down here! This isn't Spirit World, this is HELL! You're
about to run out of time! I say to him, trying to stress how
important it was to get him and Mika out.
Nightbane looks to me, then Mika. Mika looks to Nightbane with a
desperate look on her face, as though silently pleading for
someone to take her out of this place.
It was clear Nightbane gave in to Mika's desperate desire to
leave, because he runs over to me and takes Mika. Nightbane then
hears his watch go off, and sees that his six hour alarm was
going off.
Nightbane: They say time flies when you're having fun... But
this is bullcr*p! He says jokingly, which makes Mika chuckle.
Me: I'll cover you and be up right behind you. I say to him as
he puts Mika on his back and creates an ice platform to ride
out.
Demon: No you don't! You can't run from- I cut the demon off and
punch him in the stomach. I end up punching him so hard, the top
half of his body explodes. His lower half falls to the ground
limply.
I look to the demons running up, who stop when they see me.
Me: So... Who's next? I say jokingly with a dark smile.
The demons decided they didn't want to die, and made a run for
it.
Once they got away, I jumped and flew for the exit. I sensed
Nightbane and Mika vanish, which meant they made it back. I
manage to make it up into the pit and back out into the fields.
I sensed Nightbane and Mika back at the facility, which was
good. I rush into the sky and fly towards the facility.
I run into the facility and make my way to Nightbane and Mika. I
had to make sure they were okay.
I get to them, as they were helping Nightbane out of the suit,
and the medical professionals had knocked Mika out and put her
on a stretcher.
I go over to the unconscious Mika. Me: Is she gonna be okay?
Doctor: So far, she looks good. A little healing magic should
fix her up.
I look down. Me: It's the psychological trauma I'm worried
about. I say quietly.
I stand for a moment, silently thanking God that Mika was okay.
I don't know if it was the fact I was thanking God, or what, but
I suddenly couldn't breathe and I passed out almost immediately.
I guess God didn't like me thanking him?
No but jokes aside, I didn't realize at the time that Hell's
environment had actually affected me. And coming back from Hell,
let's just say that my body was in shock from all the stuff I
just put it through down in Hell. Remember that my body is
human, and that means that I should be dead.
When I passed out, I woke up on the bus again. I look over to
see Dream Mika.
Me: So... You're still here? I ask her. This time was different,
because I knew she wasn't the real Mika. And she wasn't
controlling the dream like normal.
Dream Mika: I am. She says simply. It seems she was dropping the
facade. I was honestly relieved.
Me: You're a specter, aren't you?
Dream Mika: I am. She says again.
Me: Why did you help me? Why lead me to Mika?
Dream Mika: Because God commanded it. He commanded me to help
you. She says to me.
I sigh. Me: I'm a demon. Why would God care about helping a
demon?
Dream Mika: God cares for all of his creations. Just because
demons stumbled and lost their way, doesn't mean they're lost
forever.
Me: You think... a demon can find redemption? I ask her, kind of
curious. I don't know what made me ask it. It was completely out
of left field in my mind.
Dream Mika just smiles and looks at me. Dream Mika: I do. She
responds.
Me: No demon in history has ever been redeemed. How would that
even be possible?
Dream Mika looks out the window of the bus. Dream Mika: No angel
thought demons would ever attempt to make peace, but you were
the first to suggest it in recorded history. A demon falling in
love... No one thought that was possible either.
Me: What if I don't deserve redemption?
Dream Mika: None of us deserve redemption... But with God, all
things are possible. She says with a smile as she continuse to
look out the window.
Me: Why me? I ask her, curious why I was the one that deserved
help.
Dream Mika: You will change the world. For better or worse.
"When the second eye awakens, the path shall be set. Anger or
Hope... The choice must be made."
Me: Second eye? I ask her.
She turns and points to my left eye. Dream Mika: You have yet to
unlock your full power... And the form that power takes will
determine your path. Your second eye will awaken. Whether it
becomes good or evil, that is up to you... She says before the
dream fades away.
I don't wake up from the dream though, and instead appear
sitting in a bar. I didn't know where I was, but then a british
man came and sat down next to me.
Man: Having an out of body experience, are we? He asks
sarcastically.
Me: Where am I? I ask him.
Man: You're in Lux, Mr. Former Demon King. He says with a smile.
I turn to him. I hold my hand over my left eye. My Majin Eye
didn't activate again, did it?
The man chuckles. Man: No, no. You're safe. I'm the only one
here who can see you. He then looks and waves to some customers
in the bar. Though it's making ME look like the crazy one. He
says sarcastically before drinking.
Me: How did I get here? I ask him.
Man: Your soul is on a journey, my friend... Your mind went
somewhere it wasn't supposed to go, and now your spirit is
trying to tether itself back to your body. He explains as he
continues to drink.
I turn to him. Me: How do you know so much about what's going on
with me?
The man looks to me and chuckles again. Man: I'm rooting for
you, dear boy! You're the only demon king besides your father I
actually liked. He says with a smile. That, and your the first
reincarnated demon I've ever met. One day, I want to hear
stories from your world... Maybe I could set you up with a
producer to get it made into a tv show or something... Imagine
it... You get your own show telling people your adventures in
your world before you wound up here. He says jokingly.
I stopped dead in my tracks. How did he know I was reincarnated
from another world?!
Me: Who are you, really? I ask him.
He turns to me. Me: Just the owner of this establishment. He
says before getting serious again.
Me: I don't buy that... Not just anyone would know that I'm not
from this world.
The man chuckles. Man: Not the brightest bulb of the bunch, are
you? He says jokingly. I don't know what my sister saw in you.
No wonder you haven't figured it out yet. He says with a sigh.
I tilt my head. Me: Sister? Who are you talking about?
Man: Sariel! She's sitting up in Heaven waiting for you, and
you're down here playing around. He says, somewhat annoyed.
I stand up, annoyed. Me: Sariel turned her back on me! She
betrayed me and everyone! I say angrily.
The man sighs again. Man: She didn't do it willingly. Think
about it! Why would she close heaven when you and her were about
to make the deal of the millenium? Why would she trap herself in
Heaven?
Me: Because it's safe. She was afraid of demon-kind betraying
her. Anubis was plannin-
Man: She didn't know about Anubis! You were the only one that
knew! She wasn't trying to keep anyone out! Think about it.
She'd have no reason to! He says, trying to be more blatant.
I stop for a moment. If she wasn't trying to keep us out,
then...
Me: She is trying to keep someone or something in... I say,
realizing what the man was trying to say.
Man: Exactly. There's the lightbulb. He says sarcastically.
Sister said you were smart. I beg to differ. He says
sarcastically as he drinks again.
Me: Sister? I say, realizing that I finally had a clue to this
man's identity.
But just then, I felt a tug, as though I was being pulled.
I was there just long enough to see two women practically attach
themselves to the man's arms before he turns to me. Man: Next
time... Come in person please. I'll give you a discount on some
top shelf drinks. He says to me.
Woman: Lucifer... Who are you talking to? One of the women says
to the man.
Man: No one, darling. He says as he walks off with the girls.
Me: Lucifer? The first demon king? I get up and try to go after
Lucifer to ask more questions, but I am pulled out of the bar,
and I wake up in a hospital bed.
Goten and Nightbane were next to me, sleeping. I'm guessing Mika
was in another room, and I'm also guessing Kristiel was with
her.
My brain was reeling from everything. First Dream Mika, and now
I meet Lucifer... And what about Sariel? I may have been wrong
this whole time. Just like I didn't know what was going on with
Mika and how she wound up in Hell, I didn't know that Sariel may
be going through something akin to her own hell... What could be
so dangerous she'd trap something in Heaven?
My mind was going a mile a minute... And I had no idea what to
do next.
2 Days later...
It had been a few days since I left the infirmary. Mika is
recovering too. Her physical injuries are healed. But her mental
trauma... As I said before, that's what I was worried about.
Turns out, Bariel tortured her while taking my form. Mika was
tortured by convincing her I was there to save her, and then
Bariel tortured her instead of letting her out.
Thankfully, they didn't kill her, or she'd have been stuck there
forever. Though I'm curious why they didn't. It's not like I can
ask.
Well anyway, today I was going to eat some food with Nightbane
and Goten. We were getting pizza, while Kristiel and Mika were
spending time together. But even with Kristiel's happy demeanor,
Mika was still a wreck. And I can't even get close to her
because she can't even be in the same room with me, due to the
mental trauma she suffered.
Goten, Nightbane and I were talking. Nightbane was telling Goten
about their trip to hell, and bragging that Nightbane was the
only human to survive hell and make it back. Well... Alongside
Mika.
We still don't understand why Mika lived as long as she did, or
why she wound up there in the first place. As far as she knows,
she just woke up there, and had no idea how she got there. No
fights, nothing. She just woke up one day in hell. And before
you think it, we investigated the possibility she found the
Azurite research, but we ruled out any possible involvement with
the research because Mika herself didn't even know about any
research being done and had never gone anywhere near the site in
question.
I was eating pizza while listening to Goten and Nightbane. I
couldn't help but remember the dream I had with Dream Mika, and
then meeting Lucifer. Ever since that dream, I had been
investigating, trying to figure out how to get into Heaven to
confirm what Lucifer told me. I had a weird feeling like I had
forgotten something, and I feel like I need to help Sariel.
I can't explain it, but I feel like Sariel is in trouble. Maybe
it was the talk with Lucifer, but I feel like I was missing
something. But here's the thing: The more I try to get back to
Sariel, the more I feel like I'm abandoning Mika during what
will be the worst trauma of her life. But the more time I'm
spending with Mika, I feel like I'm abandoning Sariel to a
terrible fate if there is something she's trying to keep in
Heaven.
I snap out of it just to hear Nightbane talking about my car and
wanting to buy it. I missed the context, but I think Goten and
Nightbane were arguing who would get my car if something
happened to me. But I had a response.
Me: No way you're getting my car. I say as I eat my pizza.
Nightbane: Come on man! I can take care of it!
Me: There's only one scenario where you get my car. I say to
him.
Nightbane: And what's that? He asks curiously.
Me: First... Mika would have to die. Second, we would have to
have no kids to pass on the car to. And lastly, I would have to
return to hell. I explain.
Goten: But can't you come back from Hell? He asks, realizing we
still hadn't sealed the pit yet, which had proven very
difficult, and was a problem we were still trying to figure out
before Anubis figures out there's a path to the living world
from Hell.
I look down at my pizza. Kindron: If I survive, then yes. But
next time I go to hell... I won't be able to survive it. I say
as I eat.
Goten: Okay... Now I have a whole OTHER set of questions. He
says sarcastically.
I didn't explain this to them, but the incident in hell left me
with permanent damage I can't heal. The time I spent down there
did way more damage than it should have. I would have died if it
hadn't been for my regeneration, demon power or not. Even as a
fire user, my lungs almost burned out from the demonic energy.
I have been having breathing problems since coming back.
Anubis's curse didn't heal most of the damage I took from going
to Hell, probably because I was never intended to return to
Hell. Next time, not even Anubis's curse will keep me alive.[/b]
I eventually told them what I was planning to do though, and got
to the reason I called us here for dinner.
I told them how I was planning to leave the Specter Hunters, and
how I am trying hard to figure out what to do next. Of course,
they reprimanded me, saying that leaving wasn't the solution.
But I didn't know what else to do. Mika can't even be in the
same room with me. Everytime I try to hug her, or hold her hand,
she recoils in fear. She will never be able to look at me the
same way she did before. It's hard enough getting over all the
years of torture she suffered, but the fact that I'm the face
that tortured her is something I don't know our relationship can
recover from.
But lastly, I had to figure out how to confirm what happened to
Sariel. I have to know if she's sitting pretty up there with a
smug look (which isn't like her), or if she really is in trouble
and I've been ignoring the obvious signs all this time because
maybe I misanalyzed what happened.
Regardless, I knew what I had to do, and my intent was to make
Goten to new head of the group, since he is the only one besides
me that can permanently destroy specters.
Later on, as I packed my stuff up and was getting ready to walk
out, Mika runs out and hugs me from behind. I could tell she was
forcing herself, because she was shaking in fear.
Mika: You can't leave! She says to me.
Me: Just me being here is torturing you, Mika. You won't ever
heal if I'm here.
Mika: I won't ever heal if you leave! She says. She probably
wasn't wrong.
Me: There's more to it than what happened to you, Mika... I have
other things as well.
Mika: Yeah, Goten told me about your dream... About the other
me. And about you trying to figure out if Sariel really betrayed
you or not. She says.
Me: That little traitor! I say sarcastically. He wasn't supposed
to tell anyone when I told him about Lucifer and Dream Mika. I
didn't ever even get around to telling Nightbane.
I turn to Mika and she looks up to me, trying to keep her eyes
focused on me.
Mika: I won't be an excuse for you running away, Kindron. I've
never seen you afraid before. And I feel like if you run now, it
won't end well for you.
I sigh and hug her. Me: Alright fine... I'll stay for now. But
there's something I need to investigate. I have to figure out
what happened in Heaven and why Sariel shut the doors.
Mika looks up to me and gives a weak smile. Mika: Then we'll do
it together. Somehow, we'll find a way. And I will do whatever I
can to help you find the redemption you seek.
I sigh, annoyed. Me: That little brat really did tell you
everything, didn't he? I say sarcastically. I was gonna have
some words with Goten later. But for now. I suppose I also owe
him some thanks. I just wish there was more I could do right
now.
But I knew there was a choice coming: Will I stay with Mika, or
go back to Sariel? I don't know, and only time will tell what I
decide...
Heaven's Throne:
It wasn't until later I figured out what happened in Heaven...
But later I remembered this dream... That turned into a
Nightmare.
Sariel was strung up next to the throne, her wrists chained. She
had clearly been tortured because her clothes were torn and she
was bloody all over. Lord only knows how long she'd been being
tortured for.
On the throne, was a dark creature. A malicious spirit. I saw
heaven in shambles. Souls torn apart by specters. Sariel was the
only thing stopping this creature from entering our world and
invading.
Sariel: There is no path to Heaven for you to escape, Cordath! I
made sure of it! She says weakly.
Cordath: For now. He says as he reaches into her stomach and
pulls out her intestines, causing her to scream in pain before
she starts to regenerate.
Cordath: I'm so bored... I'm so bored I don't even feel like
torturing you. He says sarcastically.
Sariel: Then go back to the dark pits of Spirit World, monster!
She says weakly.
Cordath: I prefer the living world... Where I can find the
entertainment I seek. Hopefully I'll find someone to kill my
boredom while my specters have their fun with your world. A
world I will burn to the ground.
Sariel: Kindron will stop you. I promise you that. She says,
tears in her eyes.
Cordath just chuckles. Cordath: You really think so? I hope your
ace in the hole is really as powerful as you've said. Because if
he's not, I'm going to be disappointed. And you know how I get
when I'm... disappointed. He says to Sariel.
It was obvious if Cordath the Dark could smile, he would have
been smiling right now.
Cordath... The first of malicious spirits, born in the spirit
plane. He's the opposite of Orion in the Spirit Realm, but since
the spirit realm is pure good, Cordath is his opposite but born
in the Spirit Plane.
I didn't find this all out until later, but let one thing be
certain... I did beat him, but he left, and now he's on his way
to another universe that he is time traveling to. He's become
interested in the The'Galin and the Void's creatures, and what
they're doing right now...
I hope the universe he's going to is ready for his arrival...
Because he will be arriving soon.
And he's going to be looking for something or someone to
entertain him.
End.
*****************************************************