Dagon Jinn announced the winner to the shell-shocked audience; his words reverberating throughout the petal-shaped walls of the arena. Mura lay dying and unconscious while the few sections of the crowd that remained cognizant weakly clapped. The members of the Jikininki watching from their private box sat in astonishment. Their own spirit energy was more powerful than the dark wave released from Mura, and thus helped keep them conscious and unaffected.

“What the blazing hells was that,” Grendel muttered, holding his head slightly.

Kishin grinned, his crimson eyes beaming with excitement.

“Whatever it was came from that Mura fella! Screw the giant meathead, the guy who lost just took out half the entire audience and the shields too,” he shouted. “If he was still kicking, I’d jump down there and fight him myself! Goddamn, I’m so pumped!”

Naraka stood up immediately, calling the medical staff that were rushing to Behemoth’s aid.

“Please save Mura’s life! The life of his Thrall too! Do it and I’ll personally pay you triple whatever they’re paying you now!”

The emergency medical personnel perked up when they heard this and seeing that Behemoth was in less critical condition than Mura was currently, shifted their priorities. They brought out hovering chrome stretchers that resembled rectangular slabs of metal with blinking lights.

They lifted both Mura and Lilith onto one each respectively and after pressing a button, orange translucent magic encapsulated their bodies in a shimmering dome. Across the orange magical shields were multiple arcane glyphs that any trained magician would recognize as superior healing magic.

After flipping a toggle switch on the side of the levitating stretcher, the slabs rose off the ground to waist height. Grabbing onto the handles, one medical nurse each rushed them off towards the emergency treatment wings located backstage.

“A-Anyway folks, with Behemoth and Suzu as the grand champions, they will be awarded their prize money and the ranks of Odokuro!” Dagon nervously stammered.

He had already taken his headset off, as a constant deluge of producers and sponsors were busy yelling at him with the potential lawsuits they’d have to settle now. This was definitely the last time he’d be hosting any battle tournaments.

“With that, ladies and gentlemen, thanks for tuning in! We’ll see you next year!” He said awkwardly before the live footage cut to commercials.

Backstage in the medical wing, Mura’s eyelids fluttered repeatedly like the shutter on a broken camera. He could make out lights zooming past him in rapid succession as he was escorted down a hallway on the gurney. The healing magic was in full effect. His entire body had an uncomfortable artificial warmth over it, regenerating damaged tissues and organs while administering some type of pain suppressor.

“W-Where’s… Lilith…” he questioned in a manner that was barely comprehensible.

He could hear a woman speaking to him. He was certain she was, at least. Mura couldn’t make out any words, with the only thing he could hear being an echoing blurb of muddled noise.

With the clarity of a drunk, Mura continued stammering until he could feel the motion of his gurney stop. A large flash of light blinded him, and within a moment, everything was dark.

Mura stumbled to get up, looking around at his darkened surroundings. He was no longer in the medical wings, the arena or even Yomi itself. There were no walls, no ceiling; just a sprawling darkness that was barely illuminated. The landscape was an impossible space, stretching out infinitely.

He placed his hand down on the ground to help get his footing. That’s when he noticed the ground itself wasn’t ground at all. It was water, or at least he thought it was. It was the surface of a lake, some type of black liquid holding him up effortlessly to the point that it might as well have been solid earth.

—Where am I?

As Mura stood on his own two feet, he realized he was entirely naked. Not only that, but his wounds were all mysteriously absent too. Something was wrong, very wrong. And yet, everything in his body told him this was reality. Nothing abnormal in the slightest.

“Hello? Anybody?”

No one replied back, aside from his own echoing voice.

“Anyone? Please, I need help! Where am I?”

A faint chuckle crept in from the void, making the hairs on his body stand on end.

“Who the hell are you? What do you want?” Mura yelled out, turning around frantically trying to find the source of the voice.

The chuckle replied wordlessly by growing in volume and maliciousness until it had grown into the hysterical cackling of a madman.

—I have to get out of here now!

Mura ran, his bare feet leaving ripples in the water behind him as he sprinted across the wet surface effortlessly. He ran and ran as darkness consumed his vision. In the pitch black, he could see a faint light in the far distance.

—That has to be the way out of this hellhole!

He dashed towards the light, feeling a moistness slowly engulfing his body as he grew closer and closer. His unclothed skin grew more warm and wet as he neared the alien light source, illuminating his body. Mura flung himself into the white light, engulfing him as he landed in a similar location of infinite space. Now however, the darkness was white. Nothing but white space and pale white liquid was what he stood upon.

Sweat dripped from his forehead and into the water, staining it a crimson hue. Mura looked curiously at the contrast of color and wiped his forehead. His eyes widened as he saw why his entire body was wet and hot.

Blood coated every centimeter of his skin and body, plastering his shaggy black hair against his scalp like a greasy pomade.

“W-What the hell is this?!”

Mura spat up blood. As it flew into the water, more blood filled his oral cavity until he began vomiting the sanguine fluid. Between his choking sputters and coughs, Mura looked up to see a black shape in the distance of the white void.

It was thin, gaunt with a sensual body that exuded malice. Its feet didn’t touch the water. Instead, the being levitated a few inches above the liquid. The water was rising up around its feet, defying gravity as it solidified into orbs of shifting liquescent mass. The being turned to Mura, any eyes it may have had concealed by an organic visor. The visor extended upwards into two oval-shaped protrusions on each side of its head; covered in a hard, steel substance acting as armor.

The creature smiled, its feminine lips black as the night sky. Mura began to sink, the liquid that had once been solid slowly consumed him like a thick mire.

—What is that… monster?!

The being laughed as Mura struggled aimlessly to escape. It had been the voice he had heard before. The liquid had nearly covered his head at this point. The once white surroundings instantly shifted color.

Everything was red. A dark, sickly red that cast a hellish shadow upon everything it touched. The last thing Mura saw as the mysterious demon cackled were the bodies that instantly encircled it, littering the waters along with Mura’s own body. They were all dead, mangled corpses that rose steadily into a mountain as Mura’s vision faded into oblivion.

❇ ❇ ❇

Mura shot awake, screaming in a burst of terror and shock. His chest was heaving, as if the air had been knocked from his lungs. That’s when he felt the twinge of pain envelop his chest and sides.

“Calm down idiot, you haven’t fully healed yet! Jeez, you scared the piss outta me!”

He turned to his left, overjoyed to both hear and see a familiar person. It was Lilith, sporting a few bandages and scrapes.

“Morning, sleepyhead. You were out cold for an entire day,” she said in a lighthearted yet snarky tone.

“W-Where… You…”

“As literate as usual, it seems,” Lilith said with a laugh. “We’re in the hospital. My wounds were less severe than yours, so they were able to treat me pretty easily. But you, they really saved your life! They transferred you here once you were stable.”

—I’ve been out for a whole day now? Figures, completely knocked out and the only thing I can remember is a terrifying nightmare.

“Ugh… so it would seem,” Mura replied back weakly.

His stomach growled audibly, causing Lilith to look around like a mischievous child.

“I’m starving… Crap, is there any food in this place?”

“Well, they left you some food earlier! But since you were unconscious and stuff, I just ate it since, you know, it could have been forever until you woke up—“

“You punk! Who eats the food of a hospitalized patient?!” Mura shouted at her.

“Waah! Don’t kill me!” Lilith cried out.

Suddenly a knock came at the door to Mura’s room.

“Oh! C-Come in,” Mura said, lying back down as Lilith quickly sat at the foot of his hospital bed.

The door opened and in walked a man in black armor with a flowing, feathery cape attached to his waist. His purple hair was raised in tuffs on the sides of his head like small horns, with the remainder of his long locks pulled back into a ponytail.

“Hello there, Mura and Lilith. My name is—“

“You’re Naraka! The Second Legendary Hero!” Mura gasped in astonishment.

He knew all about this man, everyone did. Naraka was the biggest celebrity alive in Yomi, the hero that was said to be the successor to the original legendary hero Tiamat. There were statues in his honor, toys and merchandise bearing his likeness, even a movie in development regarding his early exploits.

“Yes, I see you’re familiar with me then? Well, that’s good at least!” Naraka said with a warm chuckle.

Lilith’s eyebrow raised up.

“Are you a famous guy or something?”

“Me? Well, yes I suppose I am? I’m Naraka, nice to meet you!”

“Never heard of you.”

Naraka’s face and entire demeanor dropped instantly to that of a torn, depressed kid. His head hung low after hearing the blunt comeback.

—He really takes this kind of thing hard…

“A-Anyway, I’ve been waiting for you to wake up! I recently came back from visiting Gakidō. It wasn’t too hard to track down where Belial was camped out,” Naraka spoke, taking a seat on one of the chairs in the room.

The words instantly shot through Mura’s brain like a bullet.

“You met Belial?! H-How did you know—“

Naraka laughed lightly and pulled forth a paper from behind a leather flap in his armor.

“Here, a ‘get well soon’ present from me,” Naraka said with a kind tone, handing Mura the paper.

Mura glanced over at Lilith, his mind still numb from everything that was happening. He slowly opened the letter to read the contents. His eyes glowed as he read the inked words of the document, signed and sealed.

It was a decree from the imperial office, a sponsorship to give Mura and Lilith the ranks of Odokuro in the Deepcut.

“All you have to do is sign it. Do that, and everything you fought for will be yours.”

“Holy shit, what does it say?! Are you for real, Mister Maraca??” Lilith spoke with a gasp of bewilderment.

“Yes, entirely for real! And it’s 'Naraka'…” the purple-haired man said awkwardly.

“I don’t understand, Naraka. Why are you doing this for me? I can’t sign this, I mean… I needed the money for Belial.”

“You’ll never have to worry about Belial or his men ever again. I met with your boss personally. We talked about the money you apparently owed him and I paid it in full myself. Before I left, I told them if he or his men tried anything with you again, I would return for their heads.”

Mura couldn’t believe his ears. This had to be another dream. Tears welled up in his eyes.

“I… I don’t know what to say. Why me?”

“I watched you in the tournament. You fought with cunning, bravery and a quick wit. You’re still green in this business, but I have a feeling you could become one of the best.”

“We're nobodies... Yet you'll give both of us the means to get money, right? By doing contracts and stuff?”

“We all start out as nobodies. I'll gladly do this for you two. If you accept, your new home will be at the Deepcut. The living quarters are really quite nice, much better quality now than when I initially became an Odokuro,” Naraka said with a hearty laugh. “Of course, you can choose not to sign. You’re a free man, Mura. Your destiny is yours to forge from now on.”

Mura looked at the contract, wiping his tears away. Lilith grabbed his hand before he could sign anything.

"Hold the phone! Isn't it weird that this hotshot comes outta nowhere and passes over Behemoth, giving us the reward when we lost the tournament?" She asked with suspicion heavy in her tone.

“I understand your concern, Lilith. A man like Behemoth is only interested in simple things, trivialities like money and power. My successor needs something more,” Naraka explained while pressing his fingertips together.

"Successor? I thought that this was about the Deepcut, not being your personal intern," she spat venomously.

"Oh, thank you for reminding me! I was going to add that I wanted Mura to become my apprentice as well."

Mura’s mind exploded as Lilith's frown deepened.

“Are you serious?! This is insane!” Mura shouted with joy.

“You possess something latent inside you, that little show you displayed in the arena for instance. I want to help you control it and understand it. I suppose… I sense a kindred spirit in you.”

“It’s a deal then?” Mura said to them both, looking towards Lilith for her approval. Lilith reluctantly let go of his hand, letting it drop to her side.

"I just wanted you to be sure..."

"Don't worry so much, Lilith! We can trust Naraka. But still, thank you."

Mura signed the paper by touching the signature line. In a shining blue flourish his name magically etched itself into the parchment.

“So like I was saying, Mura,” Naraka stated, collecting the document back from him. “As an Odokuro, I plan on taking you as my personal apprentice. I won’t be in this world much longer, I’m afraid. I’ll need a worthy successor to take my place once I’m gone one day.”

“Thank you so much… For everything,” Mura wept, bowing his head in respect towards his new master.

Meanwhile, across the hallways of the hospital, in some distant ward of the building a woman slept peacefully. She was hooked up to several devices monitoring her condition, comatose but alive. Her ashen grey skin and periwinkle hair made her appear caught between the threads of life and death. Suddenly, for the first time in a nearly a week, her fingers twitched and her heartbeat picked up.

Doctors rushed in at once, tending to her as her eyes slowly flickered open. One doctor approached her with a clipboard in hand.

“You’ve been in a coma for about a week now. We’re happy to have you back with us, Miss Kirin.”