Prologue: The Aeon of Death

Chapter 3: And What If I Refuse?

In the blink of an eye, most of the howling mist had retreated to the key, and the room had become disorganized. The siblings' bed was ripped to shreds; the closet door had flung open; pieces of shattered glass on the window seal reflected the pale flame outside; and splinters of a broken door scattered along the corridor.

However, the figure can be seen kneeling within this disorderly room, his shadow engulfing the twins' motionless corpses as he gazed at his hand, which held the key to the howling mist.

"Just a little while longer, everyone," he whispered to the Key.

Afterward, he conjured a black chain with his free hand, hung the key on it, and concealed the key chain on his chest. He stood up and turned around to face Charon, who'd been gazing at his chest.

"Let's leave now, Charon."

Charon shifted his line of sight to his eyes.

"But, sir," Charon said, poking his head to the side and pointing at the two motionless corpses. He then continued.

"I did not witness their souls enter your Essence Reaper's domain, nor did I sense their presence in the Realm of the Fallen. Where did their souls go?"

The Figure ignored his query and adjusted his gaze to his scythe, walking closer to it. Recognizing that he would not get a response, Charon straightened his tie and fixed his top hat before proceeding.

"That black mist of yours, Sir, is fascinating. I believe that with that kind of power, you can devour hundreds, if not thousands, of souls in just the blink of an eye." Charon said, his eyes gleaming.

The Figure grabbed the handle of his Essence Reaper and muttered,

"Keep this hidden from the Ruler and the other Aeons."

The Figure turned around and glared at Charon and added,

"Nod if you understand," he said, as he lifted his Scythe from the ground and rested it on his shoulder.

Charon instantly nodded and lowered his head while he executed another gentleman's bow...

"Understood, Sir."

Afterward, the Figure snapped his fingers, and the two corpses floated in the air. He followed by flicking his three fingers: thumb, index, and middle finger. releasing the siblings' hands from each other's grasp.

After this, he walked towards the living room and positioned them in the heart of the premises, next to each other, with their hands folded across their chests.

After this, The Figure walked through the door, nodded to Charon while he walked past him, and exited the premises, and Charon followed from behind him.

When they exited the house, Charon clapped two times.

*Clap-Clap?* .

And the ten pale flames swooped towards him and combined to produce a massive blue flame that scorched the grass on the ground and formed a pupil of blue flames in Charon's eye sockets while he hurled it skyward and detonated it at the upper portion of the Chain Sphere that encircled the entire premises...

"Booom!"

The Blue Flame blossomed while it devoured the upper portion of the sphere.

"Fire Essence, Pale Devourer!"

Charon yelled and revealed an ear-to-ear grin while he watched his flame consume the melting metal.

Seeing that Charon seemed to have been enjoying his fetish, the figure glanced at him before shifting his gaze to the area where the mother of the sibling awaited his return...

....

The breeze ruffled his cowl as the moonlight gleamed on the scythe blade, and the grass danced in the fierce gales. As they both observed their surroundings, they saw two individuals in the fields. The other one stood on the blood-drenched grass, and the other one had her legs kneeling on the grass.

One of them was a man with black hair, brown eyes, a muscular physique, and wore farmer's attire. He stood beside the woman whose legs were on the grassy plain and whose wrists were cut open on her lap.

She was dressed in a bloody blue jumpsuit and a bloody apron, with blood-drenched blonde hair, soulless eyes, and dried tears on her cheeks. Blood dripped out from her wrists as her gaze was fixed on the entrance door of the house. However, she remained unmoved as The Figure and Charon approached them.

The Figure turned his gaze on the man and asked,

"Hey you," he said, while pointing his chin at the woman before adding,

"What happened to her?"

The man's legs fall to the ground, and he responds,

"My lord, after you sealed the sphere, she instantly attempted to use her given blessing to shatter it, but she failed, and."

When he was about to continue, Charon marched up and interrupted him.

"Did you help her?" he snarled,

However, when he was about to approach the man to give him a beating, The Figure stopped him with his hand, prompting him to come to a halt again.

Following this, The Figure glared at Charon, causing him to take a step back in fear, after which he shifted his gaze to the man and uttered,

"Continue."

The man shuddered, while he lowered his head even lower, before continuing,

"And... and... She lost too much blood, and she was probably in a catatonic state because of it."

The Figure shifted his gaze to the blood-drenched woman. Following this, he knelt, reached inside his robe for her son's quill, placed it in the pocket of her apron, and stood up while he turned his gaze at Charon and nodded. Charon nodded in return while he turned to stare down at the man when he spoke...

"Our deal had ended. And the item I promised you will be yours."

The man grinned ear-to-ear after hearing Charon's words. He approached him, leaving his catatonic wife aside...

However, he was about to get close to them. Charon and The Figure heard a sound they hadn't heard in a while.

*Ding-Ding-Ding* huhu

Charon shifted his gaze to the Figure and asked,

"Sir, would you like me to answer this?"

The Figure glanced at him and nodded. After he got permission, Charon grabbed his top hat, pulled out what seemed to be a stone amulet, and threw it on the floor.

When the amulet contacted the ground, it shattered into thousands of blue crystals and floated in the air, creating a 50-inch-wide hologram.

*WUUUSSH*

Once the hologram solidified, a blue figure flashed on the screen. The hologram's details are blurry. Following this, a man's voice spoke...

"The Aeon of Death, The Pale Wanderer, The Child Disaster... Damn, you have a lot of good nicknames, right, Azael Kindred."

"Don't call me by my name, you bast*rd," Azael replied, then added,

"Tell me what the Ruler or the other Aeons want and be on your way."

"Haha, don't tell that you're mad about last time?" the holographic figure laughed, adding,

"Azael, despite being exiled for a thousand years, you still haven't changed a bit."

The blurry man on the screen gazed at him with a blurry smirk and continued,

"And by the way, how was she, how were their souls?"

The voice mocked him, and a vein throbbed in Azael's forehead while he exclaimed.

"Enough!"

A chilly breeze blew towards Charon and The Man, who were listening. Their legs wiggled while they took a step back.

"Oh? Are you mad, Azael? Or should I call you by your real name? HAHA!" the man mocked, laughing.

"Shut up, and just be done with it," Azael growled, clenching his fist.

"Damn, you're no fun," the man replied. He cleared his throat and added,

"The Ruler commands you to return to the Floating Island of Erithil."

"And if I refuse?" he replied, his tone firm.

The Hologram paused for a moment while he caressed his chin and replied,

"Ummm, let's just say that it's not what you call, ummm."

The Hologram paused while he glared at Azael before continuing.

"Optional."

Charon and the man felt a tingle on their backs when they heard this. However, Azael remained unmoved.

"And have you ever heard of the term, ummm… what do you call this..." Azael mimicked him while he also caressed his chin before continuing.

"I REFUSE!"

*Baaaam!!!

The Holographic Man bashed his fist on the table and replied,

"You think you're funny, huh?!"

He exclaimed, followed by shoving his stone amulet close to his face.

"That key of yours truly is fascinating, no?"

The rain of insults did not make Azael quiver. However, when the holographic man mentioned the key, Azael had enough, and swung his scythe towards the hologram, slicing it cleanly in half alongside the ground.

The ground trembled and the surrounding ground split in half, prompting Charon to pick up the man and the catatonic woman and leap out of its vicinity.

"Struck a nerve, did I? HAHA!"

The Holographic Man mocked him.

"See you later, Aza..."

He followed up with another slash to disintegrate it. He stared at the Amulet Stone Ashes. He was reminded again of another painful memory of a woman holding his cheek while she lay bleeding.

This recollection made him grimace behind his mask, and he grabbed the key and hammered his fist into the ground.

"That bastard!"

Azael gripped the key tighter, concealed it under his chest, and stood up. He glared at Charon while raising his scythe and speaking calmly.

"Tell me, Charon."

He firmed his grip on his Scythe.

"Are you generous enough to tell him?"

Charon attempted to voice his opinion. Azael, on the other hand, ran towards Charon without waiting for his response, leaving illusions of his shadow and afterimages behind him as he placed his Scythe on his neck.

"No… no… no… NO! Sir! I would not." Charon replied, shaking his head profusely.

However, Azael did not move an inch, and instead of stopping, he pushed his Scythe even more.

When Charon saw his horrifying death glare, he froze in place, but he forced himself to push his neck towards it until it bled to show his sincerity.

Seeing this made Azael lower his Scythe and turn around.

"Summon Erebus," he ordered.

Charon sighed deeply to calm his composure while placing the two mortals on the ground and nodded.

Afterward, he pulled a small boat from his top hat and hurled it into the ground. He clapped his hands, folded them, and plunged his right hand onto the ground.

"Come Forth, Boat of Hades, Erebus!"

The earth trembled, and something underground was heading their way in the distance. As it approached, it demolished everything in its path, making a crater chain, causing trees to fall, and the soil to crumble.

However, when it was just around 20 yards away. It rose from the earth, producing a massive sinkhole, devoured the small boat from before, and crashed it with its sharp teeth.

The thing that emerged from the earth resembled a pirate ship, and it towered over the four of them. The ship has the height of a two-story structure and three masts with black sails.

Hundreds of zombies were on deck, lowering the sails as a thick green mist issued from the captain's cabin and engulfed the bodies of the undead. In the ship's keel, there were hundreds of razor teeth capable of grinding a human in mere seconds. At its figurehead were two protruding crimson eyes, and on the hull of the ship, there were 6 fins, 3 on each side, and a breeze of icy wind emerged from them, making the ship appear to be sentient.

The thing looked at Azael and Charon, closed its eyes, and attempted to lower its head.

Charon approached it and caressed its fins.

"Are you willing to go to Eritihil, Erebus?"

The monster named Erebus wiggled in delight when it heard Eritihil, and it smiled, but it ended up looking more like an Evil Grin. Erebus nodded while shaking his body, implying he will, and roared.

" Woooooooooaaaaaaaaaaa"

The Undead leaped down, dismantled their bones, and crafted a staircase for both Charon and Azael. Azael took a step towards the stairs, but the man from before came up to him and asked.

"Ahem, Lord Charon and Lord," When he was about to mention Azael's name, Charon glared at him, prompting him to halt and rephrase his words.

"My Lords, forgive my disrespectful interruption but..."

The man raised his head, stared at Charon's top hat, and continued,

"About the artifacts, um, can I have them?"

Charon was about to reply when Azael extended his hand and directed his chin toward the boat. Charon nodded and walked up the staircase. Then Azael walked toward the man and halted in front of him.

"Artifact?"

When he felt his presence, the man dropped his head even lower, kissing the earth. He responded,

"Lord Charon said I'd get an artifact if I offered the children's souls," he trembled.

Azael gazed at the man's trembling body before he responded,

"Wealth, power, and fame," Azael said, grabbing his Scythe on his back before continuing.

"Those are the things that many mortals seek and will risk their lives to achieve. But you want to know something?"

Azael bent his knees before continuing.

"I'm kind of in a good mood, and I'm willing to share it with you."

After this, Azael took out a golden orb from his robe and placed it in front of the man.

"This artifact is called Midas' Blessing, and everything that you touch will turn into gold in an instant."

When he heard the words that came out of Azael's mouth, his eyes glowed and his mouth watered with the lust for power. Following this, Azael reached out and touched the artifact close to his face before adding,

"Would you like to try to get this?"

The man nodded continuously like a child in response to his query, while his mouth drooled.

"Yes, my lord!"

He answered without hesitation, and Azael replied,

"Good."

*Slam!!!!*

Azael slammed the orb across his face, breaking his jaw and cheekbone before it hurled him to the ground and banged his head on the stones.

"M….yy…. Lord…. I… Thought…"

The man's body trembled while Azael walked in his direction, and he continued,

"Please Lord, let me live, and, and, I won't even ask for the artifact. Just please let me live."

However, Azael shook his head before responding,

"Hmmm, I thought you wanted this Artifact?"

The man shook his head in disapproval, and his face darkened. Afterward, Azael raised his index finger, prompting black chains to emerge from the ground, and Erebus growled at the man.

However, Azael raised his hand before Erebus could do anything. The man crawled back, sweating. When he turned around to escape, he noticed the dense forest and dashed towards it to hide before he exclaimed,

"Earth Essence, Unrelenting F..."

When he took another step to activate his chant, the black chains caught on his ankle, forcing him to collapse face-first into the ground.

"Help me....."

He turned his gaze to Charon. However, he looked the other way. In mere seconds, the man was wrapped by the Black Chains and was dragged back to Azael, who didn't move from his original position...

"Welcome back. How was your trip?" Azael spoke sarcastically while he stared down at him.

*Hmmmmp, Hmmmmp* mwehehe

The man tried to scream. However, Azael grabbed his Scythe off the ground, placed it on his shoulder, and twisted it.

"Essence Reaper, Night Harvest!"

Azael swung his Scythe into his neck. However, blood did not gush out as expected; instead, his body was uninjured, and they could see just a pale complexion on the man's face.

Blue Soul Essence exited from his body, its neck slit open and blue particles leaking forth. Azael raised his Scythe, and Essence flew towards the sky and fell as it entered the Scythe, making Azael take a step back from the impact...

Following this, a blue radiance engulfed Azael's body. Afterward, he stretched his shoulders and back as he glanced down at his hand and twitched his finger.

"Is this the power that he wants?"

After this, Azael dragged the man's soulless body and flung it against Erebus' mouth, pulverizing it. He shifted his attention to see Charon grinning as he held flames in his palm, ready to crisp the motionless woman. When Azael noticed this, he threw his Scythe toward Charon...

Charon heard the eerie sound of the piercing wind. He turned his gaze and leaped back to dodge the upcoming attack, then shifted his gaze to Azael and exclaimed, losing his composure once more.

"Are you trying to kill me, Sir!?!" He yelled before adding with a pleasant tone,

"What did I do wrong?"

Charon pleaded with Azael, but he only responded with three words.

"Let her live."

Charon gazed at the woman with spite in his eyes before turning his gaze to Azael. Charon took a deep breath to calm his composure, fixed his bowtie and tophat, and performed a gentleman's bow at Azael.

After this, Azael approached the catatonic woman and knelt, while grabbing a dagger from inside his robe, and placing it in the bleeding woman's hand before whispering,

"As I took your children's souls without your permission, I grant you to exact your vengeance on me someday, but for now," Azael said while he wrapped the woman's hands around the dagger and continued,

"It is not the time."

Afterward, Azael stood up and walked toward Erebus, with Charon following behind him…