PROLOGUE

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"They are just too many......I can't keep up running from them"

I thought to myself as I catapulted myself to safety...jumping as fast I could and landing on the colossal pieces of rocks that stood on the endless sea of hot larva without taking my time to look back at the countless miniature demons chasing me.

To no avail, I had fought the creatures with the last of energy I could cultivate ever since I accidentally entered into the land of the dead at least so I thought when I first found myself in front of the reaper whom I could no longer see but yet loathe for bringing me to the very center of hellish domain through the barricade gates.

But I had no choice but to fighting the demons that had crawled out of their holes and fled to gather more of the energy that I had left but they kept on an unrelenting pursuit to catch me. One of the four colossal Dominos had summoned their minions of infinite number to tame me after sensing my presence in the realm of the underworld.

The Dominos were all bigger and taller than the broken cliffs themselves and had their heads almost reaching the fiery dark dome that separated the realm of the underworld from the heavens and the land of living but a fifth amongst them sitting their midst, was way larger and more horrifyingly demonic to lookout

His gigantic stature was twice the size of the other Dominos that stood around him on a colossal platform and his two huge pointy horns were stuck to his hardened furry cranium which seemed to cover his entire dark face. I had not seen his faces but I know from the first moment I saw them, they recognized who I was and wanted to harm me in return for the countless minions that had died by my sword.

Relentlessly, I increased my pace trying to get away from the numerous demonic crawlers chasing after me But yet came another deformed demon leaping forward to another cliff before me to cut my getaway. I stopped and luckily maneuvered my way to the rocky edges of the Cliffside.

As a result of the sea of larva, thick foggy hot smokes filled the entire realm to the brim making everything I stepped on a lot hotter than hot steam from burning firewood or a fiery furnace.

I took a right turn towards another cliff but found it to be very steep and on the brink of collapsing into the larva. Then I stopped abruptly at the edge of the cliff with nowhere else to go and four of the miniature demons were closing in on me.

I turned around hoping to find another way to escape from being cut to pieces by the weapons each of the miniature demons equipped themselves with but they had already encircled every bit of space I had left to run. Without hesitation, the first demon swung his hefty curved axe twice to slash me in the torso but I dodged it. Undauntedly, I took a bold risk to jump on his deformed back and acrobatically somersaulted in mid air to narrowly dodge a third strike that came forth from the third demon's blade before landing on the ground behind the four demons who were taken by surprise to see that I had yet again, slipped from their fingers.

They watched me in dismay as I took a foolhardy leap to the steep cliff, surfing in midair on a colossal height above the sea of larva. At first, I thought I won't make it but I was quick to issue out another burst of Blue Saringa energy which propelled me forth to land on the edge of the Cliffside.

"I can't move....At this rate, I will be unable stop losing lot of chakra to this fog....which seems to drain every bit of energy left to protect my soul...not to mention running away from those demons....If this keeps up....I'll end up losing being consumed by the fog...."

I thought to myself as I struggled to balance my foot on the steep cliff.

"But wait a minute—"

A horrifying thought flashed through my mind as I suddenly recalled a last memory of my real body dying after being stabbed by a sword from behind.

"What is this?"

"Am I....? It can't be...I can't be dead but..."

I became alarmed when I saw my hand disappearing and appearing. I felt a lot terrified at the realization that something ominous had gone wrong which I didn't know had happened to me. As I struggled to remember what had been the actual cause of my presence in the underworld and from where I stood panting, I could see a whole lot of the demons standing by the edge of the cliff at the other side, unwillingly to jump to where I was far out from their reach.

"He's quite relentless and unbreakable than I had thought"

One of the colossal Dominos said, after a prolong silence of watching me tussle with their minions.

"You're right, Meguba. No wonder he was chosen to lead the heavenly army"

"But tragically, he ended up dying by the same hands that bred him"

"I wonder how long he'll hold up"

"Surprisingly, He hasn't given up like we thought he would"

"But not for long, Arguis"

"He should realize by now that the smoke is toxic to him"

"I bet he'll last long even if he had already knows that"

"He doesn't have much time left. By now, his soul is at the brink of withering away after fighting your minions for hours"

"He's truly remarkable and entertaining as well but don't you think he'll soon find out that his soul will vanish if he keeps wasting his powers?"

"Perhaps and I think he's starting to realize that fighting your minions is a futile attempt to keep his soul from vanishing completely"

"Let us wait and watch what he'll do next if the minions were to cross over to the other side"

Meguba said and breathed another fiery smoke from his nostrils. It transformed into flames which surrounded the minions and I.

"Meguba, stop your savage minions!"

A thunderous voice which shook the foundations of the realm resounded from the one sitting on the throne followed by a rippling effect of an earthquake and the cliffs trembled violently. I was lucky to have survived the aftermath only to discover a fourth of the countless demons had fallen into the larva as a result of the tremor that followed after the voice echoed throughout the entire realm.

Meguba and the other four were terrified as I was and quickly fell down to their feet in reverence of the dark faced beast who spoke out without moving his lips.

"As you wish....your most evilness...we'll stop the punishment as he deserves"

"You are all forgiven....I have greater plans for him and that'll be enough for now. Argius, go tell him what we have planned in stall for those who betrayed him"

"And if he refuses to comply...what'll you have us do to him?"

"Then...you can do with him as you please...One lost soul of our enemies won't hurt me or our plans by any least"

"We'll carry out your biding right away"

Arguis replied and in a blink of an eye, vanished to where I stood on the steep cliff, watching them as they speak in their court from a distance and appeared in the same form but miniature like the rest of the demon crawlers who had been on my tail.

He stood before me, half cloaked in rags and deformed as he looked when I first saw him in his colossal size but he had two pairs of black wings which covered his grey scaly skin.

"If it's not Elian, the Hero of Elvania army..."

He said and chuckled in a fit to mock me where I stood in pain before him.

"What do you want from me, Domino scum?"

"You still are as proud you can be even though you know you are in hell right now after dying from the blade of those you swore to protect"

"You lie",

"Of course not. I am not like you Elvanians who filled their warriors with false notions that we are the bad guys and turned them against us only to backstab them in the end"

"Shut your slanderous tongue!"

I shrieked and tried to punch him but my fist disappeared and reappeared a few minutes after. Then I felt a sharp pain in the side of my right chest and I fell down to my feet panting for breath. I had breathed a lot of the toxic foggy smoke which was indeed poisonous to every Elvanian being.

"You have little time left before you completely cease to exist in this realm...and I suggest you save your strength and listen closely to what I say....", He said with a malicious smirk across his lips,

"We can change your tragic destiny and send you back to where you belong if you wish and that'll only happen if....you are willing to abide by our instructions..."

He said and drew closer to me. I felt dizzy and unable to defend myself against since the smoke had eaten deep into my body. It was true that I had been betrayed by those whom I had spent my entire life trusting and believing that they were going to be harmed by the Dominos whose influence in the realm of Atlaxia was a constant threat to all the sects that living the realm particularly Elvania and the Aqualis clan.

***