Imperial Hospital - Vespa’s Capital City

“It was all a dream, just...some twisted nightmare,” Jasper thought to himself as he tried to open his eyes, only to be greeted by an even more ominous shade of darkness.

He slowly raised his hands to his head as the color drained from his face. His fingers ran over the soft thin bandages wrapped around his head before he gently sank back into the bed, too exhausted to scream.

“Welcome back,” He could hear a woman say from his side as he turned his head to face her.

His features relaxed after recognizing the sound of one of the few people in his life he had formed a bond with, his martial arts instructor, Seraphina.

He opened his mouth to ask the questions that raced through his mind, but the words never came.

A tear escaped her sharp teal eyes as she tore her pained gaze from his bandaged face. “Your friend stopped by...I think he said his name was Cassian.” She started before resting something on the boy's bandaged chest. “He wanted you to have this.”

Jasper appraised the long flat object with his hands. “A mask?” He thought to himself as he held it tightly, running his fingers over the intricate design as his head slipped back down to his pillow.

“Get some rest kid, you earned it,” Said the voice beside him before he could feel her hand slip into his. “I can’t return what’s been lost, but I promise the scales will be balanced.” She whispered.

Jasper tried to speak again but the words just wouldn't come. He just squeezed her hand tightly as exhaustion claimed him once again and he returned to slumber.

After she raised his blanket she stood and lowered the brim of her officer's cap before making her way to the door of the large multi-patient room. She stepped outside and took a deep breath before balling her gloved hand into a fist. A moment later her fist smashed straight through the wooden wall across from her as two nurses swiftly turned and walked in the other direction.

“Fuck the scale, I’m going to rip them apart,”

Valorpoint Academy School Grounds - Vespa’s Capital City

“I can’t believe the hospital released you so soon. Are you sure you can return to classes?” Cassian asked in a concerned voice as he guided Jasper over the short bridge just outside of the school grounds. They moved slowly, Jasper's arm draped over the smaller boy's shoulder. His walking cane tucked under the other arm.

“I just have some unfinished business to take care of, shouldn't take long,” Jasper stated calmly as rain started to drizzle around them from the cloud covered afternoon sky. They crossed through the school gates drawing the eyes of dozens of students as they stared at the fallen hero and his companion.

“Holy shit is that him?”....“The rumors were true”......"What's with the mask?".......

The pair could hear them whisper in hushed tones as they approached the main entrance. Just before they crossed over into the building they heard a commotion coming from the roof.

Jasper's head rose as he motioned towards the sound of the noise. “Take me.”

“Come on, you can’t ask that of me,” Cassian whispered, pausing briefly in the main entrance.

“I’m still standing aren't I? Please...just take me,” Jasper told the boy confidently.

“You’re fucking crazy, you know that… I don’t know how you do it” Cassian sighed before taking his shoulder and guiding him up the stairs towards the fourth floor.

They passed more students on the long climb, more whispers swirling around them as they ascended the steps.

Jasper could hear muffled voices through the heavy wooden door on the top floor as the boys approached it. It sounded like it was the same noble boys from the other day shoving and taunting some other poor victim.

Jasper slowly removed his mask covering his bandaged face and handed it back to Cassian. “Wait for me here, won’t you?” Jasper whispered to him before putting his hand on the door.

“There's no convincing you otherwise, huh?” Cassian asked, his voice raspy and uneven.

“Afraid not,” Jasper replied before reaching out and finding a shoulder to rest his hand on. “Don’t worry. I’ve got nothing left for them to take from me.” He breathed before turning and pushing the large wooden door open and stepping out onto the rain-slicked rooftop.

The wooden door slammed shut behind him as he turned his head towards the commotion.

“You really are just a bunch of cowards aren't you, too scared to ever take a fair fight” Jasper yelled out towards the voices he heard.

“J-Jasper!?” He could hear an excited voice call before he heard someone scramble to their feet and run over to him. “Thank you” The student whispered before running past him into the stairwell.

“Well, well, well… look who it is.” He heard the nobles jeer at him as the rain began to soak through the bandages that still covered his face.

Jasper tossed his walking stick aside as he dropped into a defensive stance.

“Let’s finish this once and for all,” The noble spat as Jasper heard a set of footsteps approach.

“Teach him a lesson!” He could hear the others cheer.

Before Jasper could react, a devastating punch slammed into his side. He recoiled in pain before sending a flurry of weak punches, hitting nothing but air.

“The rain, It’s too loud, I can’t track him!” He panicked as his heart began slamming against his chest.

“Come on, where's the big bad Jasper?” He heard as another blow struck his already shattered abdomen with a sickening crack, sending him to his knees as blood seeped from his mouth.

“You fucking murderers!” Jasper yelled as another punch hammered him in the face, sending his body tumbling down to the rain-slicked roof.

“You know what you are? You’re fucking nothing, you can’t even save yourself now” He heard the noble laugh as a kick slammed against his ribcage.

He could feel himself being dragged across the roof, his bandages falling from his scar covered face. He felt himself being dropped and lifted again by the scruff of his uniform. His broken body barely conscious, hardly registering that his feet were halfway off the roof’s edge.

“Even you can’t go this far,” Jasper challenged in a ragged voice as the rain splashed across his face.

“That’s the best part though. I can do whatever the fuck I want. I’m a god here!” He heard him laugh maniacally. “But you on the other hand….well you…”

“HAVE. NOTHING!” The noble screamed directly into his face.

“He’s right”

“YOU. ARE. NOTHING!”

“A zero,” The noble whispered to him before Jasper felt the tension leave his shirt and he felt himself begin to fall backward.

Jasper barely registered the rooftop door blow open as he heard Vinae’s voice desperately cry out to him.

“JASPER!”

“You’re close”

The world slowed around him as he fell through the air, rain sprinkling across his skin.

“Now search for the realm between the breath of life and the grasp of death”

Jasper emptied his mind and body completely, embracing the enigmatic aura overwhelming his entire being as it consumed him. He could feel the sensation of falling being replaced by floating as he felt his body drifting across an endless abyss. He could feel the rain subside and an ethereal breeze take its place.

The noble peered over the edge where the only thing he could see was an ominous cloud of black smoke. He blinked and rubbed his eyes before a cold shiver ran down his spine.

Noble’s Estate - Vespa’s Capital City - one day later

The two large guards in suits standing watch in front of the large estate glanced at one another as they noticed a woman approaching from the main path. Her shoulder-length white hair blowing lightly in the evening breeze as the moonlight reflected off oer teal-tinted eyes. She wore what appeared to be a tight-fitting black officer’s uniform over her athletic frame that featured an insignia they didn't recognize. She reached up to adjust her matching cap, long white gloves adorning her hands.

“Ma’am, this is a restricted area, identify yourself immediately,” one of the guards grunted as he stepped forward and rested a hand on the shoulder of the approaching woman.

“You’re in the way,” she remarked coldly before dropping her right elbow over his extended arm, a loud crack ringing out as the man's arm shattered. He spilled to the ground where he began howling incoherently in pain.

“What the fu-” The other guard didn't get a chance to draw his sword before her gloved fist slammed violently into his face, sending him careening to the ground a few meters away. Blood and teeth splattering the grass beneath him.

She cracked her knuckles and slowly walked up the stone steps to the luxurious estate.

The large wooden doors of the mansion creaked open as the family's butler approached the uninvited guest.

“What's this commotion ab-” He began before she cut him off.

“Nope,” she sighed before a vicious punch slammed into the butler's abdomen. The older gentleman doubled over in pain before he felt her hand on his back and he was sent tumbling down the short steps just outside the entrance.

“Who the fuck are you,” A boy asked as he froze in the middle of the foyer.

The woman's sharp eyes darkened slightly before she dashed forward at blinding speed and grabbed the boy by the neck. She effortlessly hoisted him off the ground as her grip began to tighten.

“You know who I am right!? Who my father is!?” the boy choked out as he struggled against her grasp.

“I know exactly who you are” She stated as she began squeezing the boy's throat with an iron grip, his face beginning to contort in pain.

“Stop! Please! I’ll give you anything you want, let the boy go!” An older, well-dressed man called from the main hallway leading further into the mansion.

“Oh really? Then give me back my fucking apprentice” She remarked coldly while facing the boy's father in the hallway.

The color in the father's face drained as he watched her crush the boy's throat and discard his motionless body, her eyes never leaving his.

“They told me the boy screamed quite spectacularly when they carved up his face” The father chuckled, an evil grin spreading across his face.

“Do you people even have souls anymore? You're more of a demon than I am” She said as she flew across the hallway in a blur. She gripped his face with her right hand before quickly lifting him up and bringing his head down in one fluid, thunderous strike, splattering the man's brains across the smooth marble floor. “Just die...”

She slowly stood before raising her hand to her cap, smearing a bit of blood across its black brim as she lowered it. She turned and slowly walked back out through the foyer in front of countless servants and guards, all of which were too frozen in terror to intervene.

??? - The previous day

“Don’t worry, I've got you now” Jasper could hear a feminine voice whisper as he felt a pair of arms gently catch him.

“Who are you?” He asked as his exhausted body began to relax in her arms. All of his emotions seemingly melting away into the nothingness that surrounded them. He also noticed his bandages had fallen away, along with everything else he was wearing.

“The Goddess of Darkness, you may call me Nyx if you wish,” She answered.

“The Goddess of Darkness…just how unfortunate am I” He lamented to himself, frowning.

“Yes I know, I suppose it does sound rather grim” She smiled before bringing the boys hand up to her face. “Go on, it’s ok,” she said before guiding his hand along her soft cheek and down her long smooth hair. This helped him build a rough mental image of this strange woman before him.

“Where are we?” He asked curiously, holding out a hand into the darkness.

“My domain. A realm between life and death, where only few may walk. I believe the last mortal to travel through it referred to it simply as...the grey” She responded.

“How am I here?” The boy breathed as he felt the breeze whisp across his broken body.

“You reached out, and I caught you,” She stated plainly, as if it was the natural order of things.

“Why?” He followed, his mind still racing with endless possibilities.

“So I could do this,” He heard her say before he felt a celestial power envelop him. A rapid torrent of energy ran through his veins as he felt the ethereal winds begin to pick up speed around him.

“Sense the shadows, bend the darkness, embrace the abyss.” She chanted as she began bestowing her blessing upon the boy.

Jasper’s vision suddenly shifted from one of endless darkness to one of colorless shadows. He stretched out his hand once again, this time seeing a shadowy appendage before him. He turned to see the woman's tall, shadowy form still holding him as they floated through what appeared to be a boundless expanse of grey fog. The next sensation was a strange new surge of energy he could feel blossom deep within him.

“This power...It’s...unfathomable….” He breathed as he felt tears rolling down his face.

“Let it course through you...devour you” She whispered, her tone darkening, as she removed her hands and let the boy drift from her embrace.

“Ahhh...AHHHHHHHHHH!” He howled into the empty void, his arms and legs fully extended as the dark energy began to tear through him. He clutched his chest as he felt his very soul getting ripped apart by a sea of shadows. The grey swirled wildly around him as he began to regain control, his hands balling into tight fists.

“Only one may receive my blessing,” She mused, smiling. “This is just the beginning. I have so much to teach you. So much to show you.”

“More?” He thought to himself as a grin crept across his face.

“I’m afraid this nightmare of yours is just beginning my child...and it leads to even more tenebrous places.”

“Take me all the way down…”