Dim red lights emit off strips in the dark metal floor that illuminate the room scarcely, highlighting a lack of markings and scratches on the floors as they are entirely spotless and perfectly reflect the ominous light. Complete silence consumes the room deep underground, stowed away from civilization to contain what mustn’t get out.

Beyond what is touched by the red light was utter darkness, for the bounds of the room aren’t even discernable. Instead, there is a black fog beyond the light strips, a haunting darkness with no telling where the walls were if there are any at all.

Instead, the gloomily lit square of the room just stands in the center of a void, for the walls may be a few feet further or hundreds. The room’s ceiling is also high enough that it doesn’t get touched by the light, meaning that above too is nothing but the abyss staring down.

Among the small oasis inside the perimeter of the red light strips–which forms a square in shape– is a transparent cube. The cube has the size of a small room, for it holds a floating white chair with the ringed cushion over an open bowl, as a toilet, and next to it is a flat white table beside a silver faucet, apparently the sink.

On the opposite corner of the cube is a hovering gray corner table in front of a single floating cushion as a seat, and above the table is a long shelf as one flat platform against the transparent walls that is completely empty.

Along the far end of the cube is a white levitating bed albeit without the extra padded cushioning for the pillow, and is also noticeably thinner thus excluding excess comfort from the mattress but instead remaining rather barebones..

On that bed lies a man dressed in a cyan jumpsuit–bright enough that it can be easily discerned amongst nearly any environment–who has a muscular body with a sharp jaw and a face with a familiar scar along his right cheek. He stares straight up into the darkness through calm, gray eyes below his brown hair laying on the white surface of the bed.

Except for that one man there seems to be nobody in the room, just him alone, laying in his cell, his cage. It was however his own choice to be where he was, to atone for his numerous crimes in hope to repent for the discretion of justice the man in blue had provided for their world.

He knew very well that he would likely never step outside of a prison’s perimeter with the exception of being escorted to another confinement, for his story had come to an end, a story about wrongdoings that he knew would haunt him until his end.

A silent sigh releases from the man’s mouth, reflecting on all that had happened recently, all of the hardships he put himself through just to end up where he was now. Through it all he had believed he was doing the right thing, being a hero, but now it felt like the most heroic deed he could do was lock himself up.

He places one hand on his forehead while continuing to gaze up into the darkness surrounded by red lights, knowing that due to the record he’s built up he’d be imprisoned in a highly secure area, one isolated from others, as regardless of the well intentions he tried to explain himself to have he would still be deemed a threat by the world. He knew they had wanted him for years but simply didn’t know how to go about it, but now that they had him, they wouldn’t dare let go.

Of course, escape wasn’t a plan, he had that option before releasing that video and turning himself in. Instead, he took the fall along with his nemesis, knowing that his name would likely remain engraved on the wrong side of history, but at least perhaps his final actions could be one less diabolical. To stand against a man of purity was the most blatant form of despicability, and that he had displayed. It would be a journey even past death to redeem himself for the sins he committed and the lives he ruined whether in death or corruption.

Past the man’s contemplative face and beyond the walls of the cell, deep in the darkness beyond what the light touched was silent. It was the perfect blank canvas for his mind to ponder, without any distractions so he could take in all that had happened. While of course he was locked in a prison and secluded from anyone else, it was oddly serene for him, being able to finally see through open eyes for the first time.

The sound of chains clanking shatters the silence so oppressively that it causes the man’s body to shiver. A second later, the same sound rings again, coming from the darkness beyond the walls, breaching the tranquility of the atmosphere.

Perplexed by the sounds, the man lifts his back off of the bed to sit upright, and faces the direction of the source. He stares into the darkness, waiting for a few seconds of tense silence, before the chains clang once again, louder than the last time.

His gray eyes stare perceptively into the void as once again the chains clang, and again, louder and louder, and his eyes contract in concern while he remains on his bed. His body remains frozen now, enthralled in anxiety by the drums, waiting patiently after being relinquished of his peaceful meditation. However, the clanging comes to an end, leaving him waiting for nothing as seconds go by without sound, silence flooding back into the cage but without the tranquility it originally carried in its stream.

Sharp gray irises pierce through the transparent cage, anticipatory, feeling an invisible weight curl its fingers around his heart and begin to squeeze it as his heart begins to beat faster, feeling a sense of unease about the approach.

Through the utter darkness, a clank rings, but this time a slender figure steps forth into view, with radiating red eyes with streaks that lead up from the inner vertices up into a hood where they curve like goat horns. Below the eyes is a wide red strip of light as well, one curved menacingly like a smile, stalking the cage.

Another step forward, and it becomes apparent that there are chains wrapped around the figure’s shoulders, which clang onto its crimson body with a red phosphorescent insignia on its chest resembling an eraser which branches into a network of red streaks that stretch to different parts of the body, up into a dark metallic silver guard over its shoulders and neck, down its arms, down its abdomen which have black sides into a dark silver belt, and down both of its thighs also with black sides curved in the pattern of flames. On the belt are a few ridges as well as a miniature shining insignia just like the one on the chest, slicing through the darkness behind. The pouring of red strokes is in such a natural path that it gives the sense of running blood, covering the body with branches emerging out of the thigh rays.

On its knees are silver boots, each with three rings of immensely dark red crystals wrapped around similar to obsidian, with the soles also being of jagged crystals. On each of the forearms are three chains wrapped around a silver gauntlet leading from the top of its elbow down to covering the hands, although they’ve been concealed behind the figure’s back.

Another step forward, and it becomes clear that there’s a seemingly black cape waving behind it, with a trimmed bottom in curves that resemble a demon’s wings, seeming to be connected to the hood over the red eyes.

It takes a step again, the red strips of light on the floor illuminating its body more, allowing the crimson suit to be clearer to have a scaly shining texture like a snake or dragon. It finally stops, and stands straight, glaring straight at the man inside the cell.

Confronted by the demonic presence, the man in the cage slowly pushes his back further in the bed, trying to lean away from the being, although he knew he couldn’t go very far due to being confined. His eyes widen and he begins to pant heavily, starting to recognize the design of the being, one that he just as many had let themselves forget after so long.

His hand grips the edge of the bed, remaining silent, not knowing how to act. He knew he would be going through more hardships now in prison, but this was never seen as a potential situation he’d need to deal with.

In a deep, demonic voice the being simply greeted, “Walker.”

A heavy gulp is taken by the man in the cage, who then stutteringly cries out, “Y-you’re…you’re him…are-aren’t you? I…I thought you were dead.”

Without taking any more steps forward, the being shakes its head, keeping its glare on the gray eyes while amending, “Dead? No, but you are right, it has been long since I have shown my face. It has been long since I have needed to show my face. But here I am, here for a simple purpose.”

Another gulp is taken by the man, who tightens his grip on the bed before raising fearfully, “Wha-what…do you want with m-me…?”

A few seconds go by after the question is asked, as the being just simply stalks the man silently at first, only further imbuing fear into the man’s heart. Again silence returns to the room, but it’s not peaceful nor hollow, instead it’s terrifying.

The red light cast on the being makes for a discomforting image, like hellish flames blazing in front of the devil, staring down in judgment over mortals with no power over it.

“You don’t matter.”

It then tilts its head to the side creepily before soliciting, “Tell me everything you know about Meditat.”

A gasp excretes out of the man’s mouth as his entire body begins shaking after being further corrected, and now he realizes what was happening. After he had done his best to repent for his sins against the hero, now he was being interrogated into damaging him.

He was in this cell to do the right thing, but now he was being coerced once more to be a tool for evil, and he couldn’t run the other way.

In an attempt to try staying true to what he hoped to be for the remainder of his life, the man boldly asserts, “I…I won’t tell you anything! I’d never let you hurt him!”

After receiving the denial, the figure straightens its neck, and stares for a few more awkward seconds.

Suddenly, it then pulls its right hand from behind its back, revealing a spherical object in its hand. It then tosses the object forward in a casual motion, allowing it to land right in front of the cage, landing on top of the red light strips.

On the ground in front of the cell lies a severed head of a man with a black beard below a scar along the left cheek, and petrified wide blue eyes. Its eyes face up at the man on the bed, its mouth hung open as though it was trying to scream but couldn’t. On the top of the head were five holes placed like a bowling ball, where the being presumably gripped it disrespectfully, allowing the gray matter of the brain to be faintly visible by the red light around it.

Throwing himself onto the bed, the man crawls backwards until his back hits the wall, causing a flash of a previously invisible blue energy wall to ripple with a reverberating clang, being impacted by the crawl before the wall holds the man’s back from continuing out of his cage.

Leaning against the far wall, the man scrunches his legs up like a terrified child regardless of him clearly a full grown adult, and he grips the far edge of the bed before wincing in pain after having faced the horrific sight. He turns his head away, facing the wall behind the bed for he couldn’t bear the sight regardless of all the terrible casualties he’s witnessed.

There was something so gruesomely raw about this sight, something so wrong and disturbed that just made it hard to stomach even after all that he’s done.

After returning the hand to its back once more, the being menaces, “He too was of no use, which was unfortunate seeing how he has one of the only two to know. It’d be a shame if you had to end up the same way.”

Through all of the self-sacrifice made, relinquishing his core beliefs and future prospects to ceasefire and turn himself in, after finally having done a single noble deed in his whole life, the man could only bring himself to face a single option.

“I didn’t see his face, but he was wearing a leather jacket and had a mask similar to his old one, it was black but it still had the same shaped eyes! I’ve heard of him as someone who had been looming around my strongholds for years and causing a few disappearances to equipment and people, he was dubbed ‘The Tempest’ before we knew who he actually was! Oh and uh…uh…he was with people!”, shamefully blurts the man.

At this point, the being tilts its head again, seemingly intrigued.

Continuing, the man further cries through an ugly terrorized face with snot visibly pouring out of his nostrils, “Yeah, three others, there was an old man, a girl with pink hair, and this golden person! They were with him, I think they were his allies or something, at least they tried to help him fight and he left with them later!! But that’s everything I know! So please, I’m begging you, don’t kill me!!”

As the man breaks down into heavy pants and sobs after having just outed a man he looked up so much that he willingly abandoned everything on his word, the being nodded its head slowly, receiving all the information just given.

In the quiet wailing of the man, the being hums quietly, contemplatively, and lowers its head to think deeper for a few seconds.

“He never mentioned allies…that’s new insight. Interesting…so that’s how it is…after all this time this is what he’s chosen,” the being mentioned.

At an instant, the man’s sobs abruptly halt, and he sniffs his snot back up before wiping his nose. With streams of tears on his cheek, the man returns his gaze back to the one interrogating him, with wide fearful eyes as a horrible truth dawns on him.

He gulps again, swallowing his spit to clear his mouth, which he uses to moot apprehensively, “Wait…I thought you said he didn’t tell you anything…and that’s why he…that’s why you…-” yet he fails to finish his thoughts, overwhelmed with a tsunami of dread.

“No, I said he was of no use.”

Staring out of the cage with wide, horrified eyes, he witnesses a red flash before him, and the sound of flames whoosh into awakening.

On the edge of the cage opposite from the prisoner, a wave of red flames slowly seeps through the transparent wall, unaffected by the barrier and entering the cage. It glides down to the very end of the cage, which the prisoner tracks to see pass below his bed.

In silence, the prisoner watches the entire floor covered in red flames, before the top of the flames warps into a surface of radiating crimson liquid which constantly bubbles disturbingly, given the color of blood yet stranger properties.

More liquid forms from below the rising surface of the liquid, being constantly developed on the floor from the calm burning sea connecting to the being’s toes.

As the red acid rises higher up off the ground, and it reaches the bottom of the toilet’s bowl, to which the bowl is effectively dissolved from the substance, hollowing it out from the bottom with a hissing sound the rising liquid continues to consume more of the bowl.

At once the prisoner scrambles to his feet, standing up on the bed as the highest point in the room, and the only one he could reach. He stares frightfully, realizing the liquid was some sort of acidic substance, and that if it could dissolve metal then it’d have no difficulty dissolving him. He leans against the wall of the cell, watching the acid rise higher towards him.

Filled with fear, the prisoner turns his body towards the wall, and begins desperately banging his closed fists on it, causing flashing ripples of blue energy meant to suppress him. He continues to bang against the wall, causing reverberated clangs, clearly not doing any good at escaping. He cries out, unable to make words from the dread sweeping him, as all he can do is cry and bang.

Finally the liquid rises up to the bed’s surface, and up to the body’s foot. Upon contact, a sizzling sound emits from the foot, and the skin is immediately vaporized.

Sharp agonizing screams discharge from the man as his body is slowly dissolved alive, and he continues to bang helplessly against the cage holding him in, screaming both in help and pain as the acid continues up his knee, and through the translucent liquid, the tearing of the skin is adequately visible. Bones are chipped at too, yet remain oddly resilient, untargeted while the rest of the body is dissolved cleanly.

Behind the man, the being continues to stalk the death, watching keenly as the acid reaches past the thighs and to the hips, causing the shrieks to get only louder as tears burst out of the man’s eyes, and his bangs become louder yet equally useless.

Nothing beyond the walls is there, nothing beyond what the dim hellfire lights touch can help him. Alone in the void with the devil, there would be no angel to save him, and he would be left by himself in this agonizing state helplessly as the darkness just mocks him from outside.

Higher up the acid rises, approaching the chest after devouring the abdomen, leaving nothing but chipped bones where the muscular frame once was. Tissue and organs are torn apart in less than a second, as reaching up to the lungs soon the desperate gasps for air too becomes fruitless. The man raises his head completely up as if he was drowning in a pool, desperately trying to keep afloat and cling to air.

Through the radiating red eyes of the devil, it listens to the wailing cries of despair, watching the acid slowly rise higher and consume the chest, watching without expression, without concern, without anything. It just watches, it just observes.

It stalks the cage which is now filled over half way like a tub, filled with this horrible substance that has given nowhere else to escape to. Half of the cage was crimson red, the cage meant to keep him away from prey when in reality it only trapped him with a predator. Even more, the liquid relentlessly rises, yet slowly, savoring its meal as it consumes the cell among the complete darkness, there being nothing but pain.

Acid raises up the man’s neck as his ear-piercing screams finally come to an abrupt silence, his mouth still gaping wide just like the other leader on the floor. Higher up the crimson liquid devours the man’s silent head, eating his brain ferociously and climbing towards the face.

Before the acid could reach the face, it suddenly flashes red before entirely vanishing, as the entire pool of acid is erased at once, narrowly avoiding the face. Instead, the skeletal body collapses onto the hard metal floor which had remained preserved, allowing the bones to collide with it and lay on the ground.

Nearly the entire remaining body was just decayed bones still with red radiating burns, although still a face remains, a face of agonizing fear worn like a mask with the edges of the face burnt clean off, barely holding on with its brown hair dissolved. Inside the empty cell, the face gazes with wide blue eyes, living its final moments in regret and misery.

Behind the skeletal remains, the being swerves the other way, its cape waving like a wing as it casually begins walking back into the void, and with every step the chains clang. It walks further into the darkness, abandoning the two faces as the red light loses grip of the back, soon failing to illuminate the body.

As the being vanishes into the abyss, the face of the two leaders stare in the same directions, both with the same horrendous expressions, a nightmarish sight that marks the bitter end of what could have been a long journey for redemption.

In the critical final moment of the leaders’ lives, they served only as tools for a more heinous threat, then just to be discarded regardless.

Now a new, more vile entity has emerged from the shadows, their eyes set on an old prey thought gone.