Chapter 1: A Cruel World

After entering death's cold embrace, Erebus could only keep counting. Whether it was after the first year or the hundredth year, none of it mattered to Erebus, he just kept counting. The thought 'maybe I should just give up and disappear' plagued Erebus's mind without end yet for some reason, he just kept counting. With nothing but meaningless determination to keep him company, Erebus kept reliving his life. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't understand what he did to deserve the betrayal that led to his death.

Whenever Erebus thought about the final words he heard in life he couldn't help but regret giving out the little bit of trust he could muster to the one person he thought cared about him. Erebus had never feared death, with the life he lived, he couldn't possibly hold on to such a fear. However, for the first time in his life, Erebus felt fear. It wasn't because he was about to die, no, it was the identity of his killer that made him despair

Erebus was born into a very cruel world. He was born into a world where the strong had complete control over the weak. There was neither mercy nor empathy, only selfishness and greed. In such a world, Erebus was sold to the Continental Empire along with his older brother very soon after his birth. An event like this was very common among poor people. In the world of Experia it was very common for poor people to sell their children in order to survive. Those children would either become slaves or gladiators. If a person was unfortunate enough to become a gladiator, they would go through a hellish training until they reached full maturity. Once they reached the right age, the gladiator was put against other gladiators of similar skill where they would fight for the entertainment of the Continental Empire's nobility.

Gladiators would only get a name after winning their first brawl. As a gladiator got stronger and more known among the population, they would go up against stronger and stronger opponents. If the gladiator was strong enough, they would be put into a tournament known as "God's Trial". The gladiators would compete to become the champion of the tournament. Once a gladiator became the champion, they would be able to live a more comfortable life where they only had to fight once a year when challenged by the gladiator that reached the final round of the tournament.

Erebus and his brother, Quillon, grew up together as gladiators. Since birth, Erebus had been completely mute, this caused him to grow up suppressing his emotions because in Experia, there was no sign language and unless you were rich enough to have an education, being able to read and write was uncommon. Erebus learned early on to never trust others and to never let emotions cloud his mind. Quillon, on the other hand, lived with his parents till the age of 6 living a humble but happy life. This caused Quillon to have a different outlook on life from Erebus. Due to Erebus's lack of trust, the two brothers lived the majority of their childhood avoiding each other. Once the two brothers reached adulthood they both showed extraordinary strength and skill. After about a decade of fighting, Erebus entered "God's Trial" while Quillon was left to continue fighting in small-scale brawls.

Erebus saw immediate success in "God's Trial" and was able to use his cold and calculative personality to reach peak strength. Erebus was able to kill the past champion and take the title for himself. Erebus fought as the champion for over 20 years and became infamous for being unbeatable. During all that time Quillon was unable to join "God's Trial" causing him to resent Erebus.

Erebus reached the age of 60 while still being in his peak due to the average lifespan of a human being about 500 years on Experia. Erebus felt that his life was dull and lacked happiness so he decided to build a relationship with his brother. The two were able to reconnect and even became very close. Even after 300 more years, Erebus maintained the position of champion, making him the longest reigning champion in history. The nobles of the Continental Empire began to feel bored when watching "God's Trial" since they all knew that ultimately, the champion would never change.

Using the relationship Quillon had built with his brother, the nobles were able to plot with Quillon to kill his brother in secret. One day, when Erebus was training, Quillon gathered the best 25 mercenaries and launched an attack on Erebus. Caught without his gear, Erebus fought off his attackers with a steak knife for over an hour only to be left paralyzed when he noticed his brother commanding his attackers. Being experienced veterans allowed the mercenaries to use Erebus's slight pause to severely injure his leg, causing him to be unable to stand.

"Stop," Quillon said, "let me be the one to kill him". Quillon took his time approaching his brother, savoring every moment of his victory. With a mere wave of his hand he commanded the mercenaries to break Erebus's arms and legs. After some struggle and the death of 5 mercenaries, Erebus was finally unable to fight back and was left sprawled on the ground with regret filling his soul.

Quillon leaned in towards his brother and said the last words Erebus would ever hear in Experia. "Little brother, for over 200 years I have tortured myself every day by pretending to care for a monster like you. Even so, it was all worth it to see the regret in your eyes at this moment. If only you could talk, I am sure you would be cursing me to hell right now. Don't despair, A monster like you should never have been born anyways.". With one swift motion Quillon pierced Erebus's heart and sent his own brother to the endless void.