1 Prologue: The Chaos Phenomenon

Meliodas held his sword out in front of him as he looked up at the giant behemoth-like cat monster that had broken through the castle walls. The creature gave off a menacing glare and appeared to grin at Meliodas as it held the lifeless corpse of a soldier in its tongue.

"Well well. Long time no see. You're alone today?" The creature smirked as it leaned closer to Meliodas. Meliodas stood his ground and continued to stare fiercely at the bizarre monster in silence.

"I see! So the rest are all dead then?!" The creature continued. Meliodas remained quiet but knew what it was talking about. All of his comrades had now disappeared from his life and he was all by himself, facing this monstrosity. Meliodas's face suddenly changed as a dark pressure filled the air around them. His eyes, that were once a bright green color, had become pitch black. On his forehead, a black mark formed, consisting of a blotched circle with an unevenly expanding ring around it.

Without a word, Meliodas lunged at the monster, completely destroying what was left of the castle wall in an explosion of dust and debris. The beast emerged from the smoke unharmed as Meliodas pursued it through the air. Slashing with his blade, punching and kicking, all were ineffective as the enemy before him continued to dodge his attacks.

"What's the matter? You seem to be in pain." The creature taunted as it continued to dodge Meliodas's attacks. Meliodas grit his teeth upon hearing this, serving as another reminder that none of his friends were by his side. The creature grinned and continued to speak as Meliodas's attacks became less intense, his fighting spirit starting to waver.

"If you'd let me kill them all back then...you could have saved yourself from this pain and loneliness. You have no more friends left. So what's the point in trying so hard all by yourself? Give it up! There are no constants in this world. This is a world of chaos. Everyone eventually goes away. As if they never were there from the start."

Eventually, Meliodas stopped his onslaught of strikes at the monster. Meliodas stared at the ground, clenching the handle of his sword tightly as he continued to remain silent, with his demonic features now receding.

'Don't be sad Meliodas.' A familiar voice echoed in Meliodas' head. 'You're...not alone.'

As the voice echoed through his mind, Meliodas felt reinvigorated, his broken spirit mended. He looked up and glared at the beast.

"YOU'RE WRONG CATH!" Meliodas yelled out, surprising the creature as Meliodas's will wasn't shattered as it had originally anticipated.

'We're all with you and always will be!' The voice continued to echo inside Meliodas's head as he saw an image of his comrades flash before his eyes.

"OUR BONDS WILL NEVER GO AWAY! EVER!!!" Meliodas yelled as he leaped off the ground, shaking the Earth around them as the ground cracked away from the force. With all his strength, he charged at Cath with his blade. Cath's surprised look turned into an Eerie smile as it also lunged at Meliodas with its claws unsheathed.

Meliodas suddenly felt a weird sensation go over his body. He was no longer in the destroyed castle of Liones and was back to where he was originally fighting Cath. Next to him, was King Arthur, who looked at Meliodas, confused.

"Meliodas, what happened? You were all frozen for a moment." Arthur questioned.

"What...was that an illusion?" Meliodas asked. He looked back at his friends who were all standing behind him, frozen in place with empty looks in their eyes.

"I'm surprised you made it back." Cath commented.

"What you experienced just now, was an uncertain future that you lived through because of the power of chaos..." Arthur said.

"You did well to break free from chaos this time around. Was it because of those "bonds?" Then let chaos separate you with those bonds!" Cath yelled as it slashed the space in front of Meliodas. Meliodas's eyes widened as he witnessed space itself begin to contort and tear open. From the tear, a bright light enveloped Meliodas as he flew inside of it, unable to stop himself before it was too late.

"Not even I know where chaos will take you." Cath grinned as the rift closed.