As I pushed open the gates I felt my heart drop, a sense of dread and foreboding filled my gut (“What’s this…feeling?..”). A drop of sweat fell down my forehead as I revealed the other side of the gate, two new hooded figures stood in front of the entrance with the guards surrounding them from behind. An old male stood with a young child by his side, the old one wore black robes with emerald runic designs that went all the way up to his emerald green hood while the boy wore black leather armour similar to the guard’s but with green runic designs similar to the older man’s. The robed old man took steps towards me with arms open “I was told…that humans were captured more…but for two like you…” his English was even worse than the princess’s “Danger…You two are danger…Our god spoke truth...you arrived here…you only got death…destruction…The fools are dead…The little miss captured…” he turns to the young boy and kneels then speaks in their language. I turn to the noble woman and whisper “Translate” she glances between me and the old man but then nods “The…Great priest named the young prince…Emperor…He calls for your deaths…and begs the pri..Emperor to call upon the church’s knights…” I turn to look back at the scene, the young Emperor nodded and the priest rose while raising his left hand. He flicked his fingers and seven emerald cloaked figures appeared behind him, black armour visible under their cloaks while the hoods hid their faces. “Who are they?” I asked the noble woman but she didn’t respond so I turned around and was about to grab her hair when I felt mana fluctuating behind me, I spun around and saw each of the seven had rushed forward to attack but were intercepted. Each of the seven had a short curved sword with a black blade and green edge, each of those blades were clashing with someone else’s magic. All three platoon leaders had charged in and taken two of the knights each while Leya and Kesh surrounded the remaining one, “Don’t just stand there! Assist them!” I glared back at the rest of the platoons who were too slow to react. Before the platoon members could rush in and assist fighting the knights a wall of guards appeared between us and them with the young Emperor in the middle of it.

The princess cried something from behind me while struggling to get out of Glent’s rope, the boy glanced at her and then fixed his gaze on me. He looked no older than ten but his grey eyes looked familiar, as if I was looking into a mirror years ago. Something else also bothered me, the feeling I got from his aura disturbed me to no end (“Who…what is he?”) but my thoughts ended there as the boy’s body disappeared and then reappeared with his fist closing in on my face. A small fist covered in dark green mana slammed into my face, before I knew it I was back within the arena and inside one of the cages as I had slammed right through its gate. I glanced back up at the second floor from which I was thrown from and saw multiple bodies left limp by the hole I made in the stone fence. I rose up in the darkness as I heard multiple whimpers and gasps around me, humanoid figures shifted in the shadows as I walked through the destroyed gate and back into the arena. The young Emperor stepped through the hole in the fence and off the edge, his hood came off as he slowly floated down into the arena. His short black hair had emerald strands of glowing hair within them that gave off an eerie aura, (“He’s not normal…Wayne! Ember!”) the aethers I had dropped after being hit lost their form and returned back into my hands as dust until they reformed into pistols. The boy eyed them boy curiously but then turned to glaring at me “What is your name…” his killing intent wasn’t what shocked me but the force one of his age was able to put behind it did, I grinded my teeth “Normally id be the one asking to announce themselves first…I’ll ignore your lack of manners due to your age kid…” he ignored my remark completely “Matthew Anderson, now who is this new Emperor I’m facing?” he twitched slightly at my second sentence but quickly regained his composure “Alexius Xioqu, I will remember your name but only because we are both Champions.”. I raised a brow “Champions?...And what might that mean?” I could clearly hear the clashing of blades and magical explosions going on up top but it didn’t rush me at all, I had already sized up that the guard captain I had killed was stronger than those seven while the priest and this boy should be my prime targets.

Alexius showed little emotion but from what I could see he was slightly surprised “Champions…that is what we two are…and that strange woman up top. You feel it too don’t you? I have awoken to my legacy which is why you can, while you and that long eared one haven’t yet you can still sense those that have but not those that haven’t” multiple questions filled my mind (“Champions?...Legacy?... Long eared one?”) “I have many things to ask you it seems…” his aura thickened “But It seems you have plans other than simple chatter…That is unfortunate... your English is just as good as your information…” his form disappeared again and reappeared to my left as he performed a reverse kick aimed at my gut “Predictable” mist flowed from my body as his leg seemingly went through. “Take a long nap kid…” I made a throwing motion as he tried to regain his balance, he fell forward as the dart protruded from his left shoulder. I crouched down to pick up Wayne which I had dropped to retrieve the dart from my pant’s right pocket, one of the darts I had scavenged from the dead guards that surrounded me up at the balcony. “I have many questions for you…but first…your elder seems to have more answers…” I glanced up at the second floor as I saw a shimmering green ball of light quickly flying towards me “MASTER!!!” the little fairy had tears and snot falling down her face as she slammed into my shoulder “Calm down, wings quickly” she looked up at me and nodded as her form dissipated and just as my aethers reformed on my back as wings similar to the ones she gave me when I first exited the caravan but larger. (“Interesting?”) I made a mental note to ask her about the larger wings and her form merging with them later, I stepped towards the young boy to pick him up. My eyes widened as I leaped backwards, green ethereal tendrils lashed out at me from his body as he rose up to his knees and pulled out the dart from his shoulder. “Foolish …you cannot use a devil’s tricks on another devil….” He rose to his feet and glanced back at me as his tail flicked along with the tendrils at my position, as if hungry and impatient. “No… not only did you think you could escape…but to think you could defeat me so easily?! You will join me…The priest said so too…I am the strongest of the champions…I am the leader… A petty subordinate like you dares…to kill them…to hurt her…” he turned to face me and stared me straight in the eyes, his eyes gleamed like an emerald aimed at a sun.

“Kneel…” his body disappeared in an explosion of green fog as a flaming kick hit me in the gut, I was sent flying to the coliseum wall but before I hit it I felt a sharp pain in my back. He was behind me this time, mid air and mid flight he grabbed my head with a rock covered fist and bashed it into the ground. Blood splattered all over the ground as I struggled to get back up “Beg for mercy…” he kicked me in the side and flipped me over, “You don’t even smell of any element yet you’re a champion? You must be darkness…one of the weakest brothers” he stepped over my head with his left leg as I tried to raise Wayne at him. “Tch…you can barely even move…I’d rather not kill you…” he used my face as a platform as he spun around on it and kicked the aether out of my hand with his other leg, when he came to a stop he stomped his leg onto my other arm that held Ember “Stripped of your weapons, held down by someone so much younger than you… Does it anger you? Do you not feel any hatred towards me now? Maybe you’ll awaken to darkness due to it…The earlier you do the faster I will meet my legacy.”. “You…” I tried to speak but his foot was covered my mouth, “Hm? What is it? Speak up now…I cannot hear you.” He removed his foot from my mouth “You might just be…” I could see veins growing on his expression “Speak faster…” a grin grew on my face “You might just be crazier than me” I grabbed on the leg that was on top of my left arm and pushed up with all my remaining strength. He lost his balance and leaped backwards as I rose to my feet, (“Shit…I need to get out of here…my mana is reaching its limit…and my body can’t take anymo….”) before I could think further he was already upon me. “I said…KNEEL!” he rushed forward and within moments was in front of me, he grabbed me by the neck as I tried to counter his move but his raw strength was too much for me to rely on martial arts. He pulled me back then pushed in a throwing motion, within moments I was flying back up to the second floor, I hit the ground and tumbled a bit till I came to a stop in front of the seven knights. I tried to glance around with the one eye that wasn’t bathed in blood, the fight had entered a stalemate as the two sides stared each other off while they held their injured and dead.

Alexius landed to my right, several meters behind him were the mercenaries “Mages engage teleportation! Now!” Kayleigh was barking orders at the mages as Skel was busy on the comms with someone. Off the corner of my eye I saw Ell behind held back by Leya and Kesh, she had wild eyes and looked like she was about to go on another rampage. I was on the ground trying to hold myself up with my right arm, I looked at them and shaked my head “Go!” I shouted at the top of my lungs which caught attention I was trying to gain and attention I didn’t mean to regain. “Shut it worm” Alexius kicked me in the gut again which made me spit out another pool of my own blood, Ell grew her vines and was about to charge but everyone’s form on their side began to shimmer. The mercenaries disappeared as most of the devils stared in shock, the knights on the other hand quickly grabbed onto me and held me up right after taking Ember away “Hold him securely, take him down to the dungeons and chain him up with curse chains”. The priest walked up to me as the knights turned to take me away “Your friends have gone, but we will capture the champion later…You are enough of a gain.” He gave me a smirk as I was led out of the coliseum, the sharp pain in my back began to fester as I quickly began to lose consciousness. Darkness once again filled my mind as my senses momentarily left me, a crackling laugh echoed in my head “I told you so…Who knows what they will do to you now…More torture…More experimentation…If you only had given up the body to me…We wouldn’t be back in this predicament” the voice sounded amused yet annoyed. If I could I would have sighed “What do you really want? I know what you are now… A fragment of my past self…but what is it that you really want? You cannot be so unreasonable to truly want to eradicate humanity.” I waited for an answer as silence filled my mind for what felt like hours. “What do I want?...I…I’m not sure…I’ve been stuck here…Plotting…Hating...” the voice finally answered but only brought up more questions “Would you even enjoy killing all of humanity? You would gain nothing…Only lose everything we still have”. I could hear some kind of cracking sounds “No…I probably wouldn’t…I don’t know…I just…want to be free again…again?...why did I…I never was…” the voice sounded confused as the darkness began to shift.

My senses returned to me as I opened my eyes to a new kind of darkness, a dimly lit room with what looked like brick walls and floor. “Looks like you’re up” Alexius was sitting on top of a wooden table to my right, he was resting his arms and head on his left leg while staring at me. I glanced at myself and my predicament, I was chained up in a cross position while being held up mid air and slightly bent forwards. Suddenly a creaking sound caught my attention, a door behind me creaked open as the room was illuminated “Milord you should leave this room, the process will not be pleasant.” The priest’s voice came through from behind me “Hehehe indeed little lord, me and this “champion” will be having a lot of “fun”…” a slightly high pitched woman’s voice also reached my ears as the two came into view to my left. The priest was accompanied by a scantily dressed blonde woman, she was pushing a metal cart covered by a black cloth “Do as you wish with him, I don’t care how you do it but once you break him I will directly address any failure of reacting to my commands onto you dungeon mistress. ” he got off the table and stepped towards the exit as the woman bowed in respect “But of course little lord…” a grin plastered on her and the priests face as they watched the young Emperor leave the room and close the door behind him. “I don’t believe I will be filled in at all?” the priest walked up to stand in front of me as the woman unveiled the cart “So it is true… you know nothing? Your priest has done a bad job…for my fortune…I’ll give you the…basics then…Before time…Before everything, five beings only were. One simply slumbered, two constantly fought, one created while the last devoured it’s creations. Then the slumbering one was woke…the younger brothers that fought woke it… It rampaged, destroyed and created as the other four…defended themselves. The five beings began a war that still exists now, they are weakened but still fight. Instead of them themselves fighting, they pick one strong minor being to grow another to fight for them” he lifted his arm and revealed a green tattoo of a strange run “The priest’s mark of corruption, every priest has one of their great being”.

I glanced between the priest and the dungeon mistress as he explained and she sorted out her tools, “You are one of the five being grown to fight, like Emperor Alexius your role is to fight for your god. You seem not convinced? Well you do not need to believe…You no remember any of this soon…” he turned to look at the woman “You will feel pain like you have never felt…First physical…” he took a couple steps back as the woman approached me with a curved dagger in one hand and a purple vial of liquid in another. She held up the vial “This makes you feel more…stronger pain…” with a grin plastered on her face she emptied the vial onto her dagger as the blade greedily absorbed it and began to shimmer its colour, she got closer pulled on a chain. My body lowered to her eye level as she threw herself onto me and began nibbling on my left ear while whispering into it “This will be…fun…” I could feel the dagger’s point on my bare chest moments before she shoved into my right leg and bit onto my ear. I felt her shiver as she let go of the dagger and pulled back to look at my face “Is that all you have?” I glared back with eyes open wide and an empty expression, her expression of what I could only understand as joy instantly switched to confusion “H…How?...” she glanced between the dagger, vial and my face. “Pain like I have never felt?..Hahaha…” a dry laugh left my lips “Your collection of toys cannot compare to what I have felt as a child” she took a couple steps back “Imagine your whole body covered in conductors as electricity is sent forth every moment off and on…Imagine drowning for hours as you’re being choked to death…Imagine being pulled apart slowly for days by heated chains covering your whole body…You think you know pain? You think you’re a giver of true pain?!” a grin grew as I continued to speak while a sinister chuckle sometimes escaped my mouth “Unchain me…I will show you…what real pain is…what unspeakable torture my race created…what methods I was taught to resist them…” she turned to look at the priest as if asking “what now?”. The priest shook his head “Do not worry, someone else already broke him for us. We will start the mental process then, his physical resistance will not matter if his mind is weak” he stepped forward and shoved the woman out of his way as he pressed his palms onto my forehead.

The woman stepped forward and put her arm onto the priest’s shoulder, at that instant my mind went blank as darkness filled my vision again. Memories of my past flowed through like a slideshow but some exterior force pushed them aside “They invade our mind…They dare…invade our past…they want to control us…No…” the voice was no longer amused or confused, a seething hatred flowed with every word it said “I don’t care anymore…let me show them…what we are…let us show them what we’re capable of…” my senses returned to me as I opened my eyes to the same room. The priest had taken a couple steps back while the woman lay on the floor shivering, I smiled at this but their expressions were full of horror “What…are you?...” the woman asked a question but immediately regretted it as my gaze fell upon her “What am I?...I’m not entirely sure myself…” I chuckled “I’m your demise” a second voice exited my lips “I spent my entire life fighting against my own kind…murdering and massacring…I’m a soldier” the voice spoke again right after I finished “I’m the one in every shadow” I turned my head and cracked my neck “You wish to control me? You wish to make me your slave?” again the voice filled in between my words “You will fail, you will fall” I ignored it as if it was normal “You seem to misunderstand something…I am no simply hound…I am Cerberus…These chains…do not bind me…these walls…will not hold me…your spells…will not affect me…your fear nourishes me…You speak of gods…I do not care what they are…Nobody will hold me…I am the monster within your halls…I am the demon inside your head…” I lower my head and glare down at the priest “I have one sole purpose, hunt down any and all in my path…No matter where you hide…no matter how fast you run…no matter what walls you put in between… the woman had already rushed out of the room as the priest began taking steps away “I will find you…I will catch you…I will kill you…” the priest tripped on his cloak and fell sideways, he got up and rushed to the door “I AM THE REAPER’S HOUND!” the door closed shut as the room’s light disappeared leaving me in utter darkness. A cold and bitter laughter echoed throughout the whole dungeon as I stretched my limbs and their chain hoops, sweat trickled down my whole body as the only light in the room was coming from my eyes and reflected off the blood on the floor.

With the only light being a weak red hue and the only sound being my trickling blood I began to question my sanity and existence (“What is this?...I feel…different…That voice…he’s…gone?...Why do I…”) “Hahahah…” (“Feel so…”) “HAHAHAHAHA” (“Great?!”) “Saya…I feel you there…Wake up” I could feel her presence on the miniature wings on my back, she had been slumbering the whole time. I felt a cold touch on my back as the wings changed form and I lost the feeling of them, “M..Master?...” a cold high pitched voice came from behind me as a small being latched onto my left shoulder. “Why…do I feel so good?...Hihihh…” she giggled as if drunk and pushed herself off my shoulder and fluttered in front of me, her green glow was completely gone and replaced with a purple one. “I feel it too…” I looked up at her, her short snow white hair was now long purple curls while her mismatched irises changed to a dark purple one and a light pink one both surrounded by a black sclera. She looked into my eyes and shivered with what looked like excitement “What now? What now?!” she fluttered back and forth “Now?...While they cower in fear…we shall introduce them to grand mayhem…we shall cause them havoc…this underground will become pandemonium…”

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POV change to the priest of corruption.

“I’M THE~ REAPER’S HOUND~” My whole body shivered as the boy awakened to his chosen name, the same feeling I felt when the young Emperor awakened. I ran out before the feeling of confusion took me over, shutting the door behind me I face my subordinates that awaited outside. The seven knights gained their power through Alexius himself, he could affect people in many ways and was key in my plan…But we failed in the first step of breaking this one. I stood there with my back to the door as a cold laughter shook my bones, chains rattled and the laughter albeit slowly died down. “You seven stay by the door, never leave and do not let anybody inside” I ordered the knights to stand guard “You show me to his gear” the dungeon mistress was shaken but still nodded and began down the many corridors of the underground, insubordination to a high priest costed more than one life. We spoke as we moved “What in the underworld was that? The creature isn’t normal…” she hugged herself as she walked and spoke, “Do not question it, simply work. He will be broken and that is your job. We may have underestimated the biological differences between us, your poison must have not affected him at all. Try different methods, as for his mind I’m sure it was his element. Darkness is very aggressive with their soul while light is highly defensive about it, it could have been either.” (“Although not even I a priest can detect his element…He named himself the reaper’s hound, that could be taken as death’s hound and death is mostly regarded as dark…but we cannot be too sure, if we mistaken his element then the corruption will fail!”) my mind races with ideas on how to reveal his attribute (“We cannot take into account his previous elements…”) “We’re here high priest…” the woman stood by a black stone door engulfed in different sealing runes (“The royal armoury”) I sigh and press my palm to the door. “By the high priest’s seal, open” the door creaks open and I rush inside. A chill finds its way up my spine when I enter the room, a simple yet eerie room with pitch black bricked walls and dark green pavement presents itself. The chill though wasn’t from the room but from what lay inside, the champion’s weapons had changed form completely and now lay chained down and sealed inside runic crystal cases.

I walk up to the cases and look inside “What the devils…” the two weapons were no longer, in their stead lay a crystalized white snake and a case full of black fog. The snake’s white crystal colour was shifting as very quickly it gained a purplish hue like pouring dye on snow, the fog on the other hand raged like a storm with purple energy crackling at the casing. “What is happening to them?...” the woman stared wide eyed at the cases, “They are…awakening…this should be impossible…his weapons are awakening to his name…what…what are these things?...can they possibly have a soul?...or gained one?” suddenly a cracking noise caught my attention and I stared at the crystal statue like snake. It’s eyes glowed a bright pink as it’s crystal shell began to crack and fall apart, “Hissss” the snake’s head exploded as an eerie fog exited the shell followed by a pitch black serpent with purple runic designs and large ear like appendages on each side of its head. The serpent glared straight into my eyes and I felt its poisonous power (“I don’t understand…what is this power? Surely it is not light…Darkness?...its designs are similar but there are differences…”). The snake turned away from me and stared into the black fog inside the other case, I followed its gaze and stared deep into the black fog “Eheheh!” the dungeon mistress yelped back and fell “There! There is something inside the fog!” I glanced back at her and then at the case again. I lifted my wrinkled right arm and made a waving gesture, the fog was pushed aside momentarily as I gasped at the other being’s form. “Xeeee…”Four pitch black eyes stared back at me as the large grey bat hissed at me, “Xeeeeee!!” the bat hissed louder and louder as its case began to shudder “Impossible…” suddenly the case cracked and shattered engulfing the whole room in a black mist. I felt my senses leaving me as I fell to my knees, I heard something else shatter and felt a slithering sensation around my neck. “Foolishsss beingsss….” I suddenly couldn’t breath anymore as all my senses but my hearing left me completely “You chained down our massster…You cagesss usss…” the voice sounded cold and very close, “Hehehehee…You think you’ve imprisoned us here?...No…there seems to be a…misunderstanding…” a second voice echoed into my ears as if speaking directly into my mind “You’ve imprisoned yourselves here with us…” the two voices chuckled coldly as they got more distant.

Suddenly my senses began to return to me and I opened my eyes “What has?...” the fog had disappeared completely, I turned to find my subordinate but she was nowhere to be seen. I rose to my feet and gave one final glance at the shattered cases then turned and rushed out of the room, “Let the gods have mercy on me…” the dungeon mistress was embedded to the corridor’s wall with crystal shards in her arms and shoulders holding her to it. (“I must find Alexius…immediately…”) I stared at her headless body one last time and turned to run down the corridor (“Of course…how could I have not known?...I sensed him…I sensed his presence but not his element…I should have known!...”) I rushed down the corridors and towards the dungeon’s exit, a stair case leading upwards “He’s not…he’s not a champion…his element…he’s…he’s the destroyer…his element…ch…” suddenly the feeling in my legs disappeared as I fell face first to the floor with a tud. “Now now priest…I cannot have you leave so suddenly now can I?...” a distant voice came from behind me as I felt every bone in my body dissolve and my muscles losing their abilities, “You have many things yet to explain to me…” I couldn’t feel what but something had grabbed onto me and was dragging me back and away from the exit at a fast pace. “Even if you do not wish to tell me…we shall have some…”fun” now won’t we?...Hah…” a crackling laughter filled the dimly lit corridors as the only lights immediately shut off before I could see what did so. I was being dragged back down the corridors into…into what I could only perceive as being dragged to hell. “NNoooooo!!!!” I screamed at the top of my old lungs, but nothing heard me.

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Edited by; Birse