1 Chapter 1: The Shard

The City of Neiz-num, a bustling and lively city located on the southern side of the Country of Svikh-dum and is on the south-eastern quadrant of the Underworld. Neiz-num is the trade hub of Svikh-dum as it's situated near the Sea of Souls, and sometimes items of splendor are found beneath the waves but only those who are foolish will enter the deeps of the sea.

The Sea of Souls which as the name states is inhabited by the souls of the Lost, despite its name it's a pretty tame sea compared to others such as the inland Sea of the Damned where those who break the rules of the Underworld are doomed to wander the ghastly sea without a chance for redemption.

In the dark alleyways of the City of Neiz-num, a man was clutching his side while being pursued by a group of shady-looking men armed with daggers. The man was heading towards the city center where the gateways were located, unbeknownst to him, they were all shut down.

"It's over Khray, the poison has already entered your bloodstream. Either you give us the Shard, and in exchange, we'll give you the antidote or we'll take the Shard over your dead body!" A man with more prominent equipment leading the chase shouted.

The man clutching his side, now called Khray, looked over his shoulders and shouted back "Go to Casa, Jhast, you're a failure of a lapdog!"

The gaudy man called Jhast immediately went wild and started barking orders to his henchmen to spread out and corner Khray. To Khray's dismay, the effect he had been hoping for was the opposite of what he wanted, which was to rile up Jhast to making stupid decisions.

'Looks like he didn't become a subordinate of that bastard by sheer luck after all.' He clicked his tongue, 'Chance is the gateways may have been blockaded but if I can scurry through, I'm a free man.' He smirked, already thinking about his riches and power but forgetting that he was still poisoned.

As Khray was weaving through the alleyways and throngs of people on the way to the city center. Jhast was contacting Maru, his right-hand man. "Maru" his mouth agape as he was getting tired of lugging his bejeweled equipment, "Are the gateways down and out? We can't let him escape this time as that Shard is of the utmost importance to the boss, my skin is on the line here so if you don't stop him right then and there, I'll personally see to it that your skin is flayed, hear me!?" Jhast screamed so loud at Maru that Khray felt sorry for the lad but he was able to get some tidbits of information.

On the other side, Maru who was a lanky fellow with sunken eyes and hollow cheeks just stayed quiet and listened to his boss's ramblings, he had already gotten used to it but that didn't mean he was calm, no, he was furious but all he could do was suck it up and execute the order perfectly that Jhast couldn't find any fault in it.

'Ha…. That pretentious ape is truly unbearable.' Maru thought as he took out his frustrations on his men to hurry up and shut down all the gateways before Khray could arrive.

Meanwhile, Khray was now nearing the city center just a few hundred meters away, so he immediately took his gear out of his backpack: A serrated knife, an off-hand dagger, a handful of smoke bombs, and a syringe filled with a luscious red liquid inside.

'I didn't wanna use you but seeing as I'm surrounded and the only way out is crowded with enemies, tis hath leave me with no options but to say farewell to you my o' syringe.' Khray smiled as he was wondering if he should be a poet whence he escapes the Underworld.

If Jhast could hear Khray's thoughts, he would strangle him for not taking the situation seriously. Well, that would be good though as they're aiming to kill him and him being distracted would greatly increase their chances of winning.

Jhast too could now see the city center nearing, so he prepared his own sets of weapons inlaid in gems and jewel and radioed to his men chasing Khray to converge on the square and to set up a perimeter.

The city center is not a building set in the middle of a city but a square like a park, and instead of greenery like grass and trees, stone pathways and pavements are aplenty, and parabolic structures are found every few hundred meters. The parabolic structures are gateways to realms outside the Underworld or places like Svikh-dum.

Located at the top of a gateway is an insignia that portrays the destination the gateway is leading, for example, the city of Neiz-num is portrayed as a quiet sea with wandering souls above. A gateway though is expensive to operate, and people who use them to travel will have to pay a hefty sum, even though the price is astronomical, travelers will often use them as traveling by foot or carriage in the vast land of the Underworld is equivalent to suicide.

"You've explored the depths of the sea, combing for relics on the seafloor and coming out in a near-death state every time but you always return again and again, and every time you've returned it's as if you're knocking on Death's door. Give me the Shard Khray, and I'll forget everything, and you'll go back diving on the depths always tempting Death." Jhast bellowed with a hint of admiration in his voice.

Upon hearing of Jhast's seemingly admiration of him, Khray sighed, knowing that not everything could return to what it was before, hence he stayed silent.

Jhast's thought of seeing Khray silent pained him as he considered him his rival in scouring the murky depths of the Sea of Souls. Khray may not have known this but Jhast was an up-and-coming Arkeo who specializes in the sea like Khray but instead of uncovering lost items like him, Jhast maps the seafloor in hopes of finding an underground structure or formation which may have a treasure trove.

"Khray, this will end your legacy and you will be branded as a traitor, and what about those drunks who listen to your tales and the children who aspire to be you, what about them?" Jhast once again pleaded for Khray to surrender.

Khray stayed silent once again but this time his eyes are resolute and he won't falter about his choice. Khray knew what the value of a Shard and how immense its power may be, and what about a Jewel, which is a congregation of Shards that form a Jewel?

The silence continued as the duo dashed towards the city square. Each side knows what's to come and what's at stake, what will be gained, and what will be lost. No words can convince these men otherwise as to their fate and future hang in the balance.

Khray reached the city square, looked around, and was dumbfounded that no one was blockading the square, believing that his luck was great and that no one was here yet, he rushed towards the nearest gateway but found that it was closed for some reason yet it didn't deter him in the slightest thus he went to every gateway he saw and every time it didn't work.

Khray finally stopped at the center of the square and wondered, "Strange" Khray whispered, "Very strange indeed, what are the chances of every gateway inoperable?" He remarked, seeing as it was his first time seeing something this strange. Unaware of the trap he just sprung which will cost him dearly.

"Khray, Khray, Khray." Maru slowly clapped as he exited from a nearby building, "You are a countryside hobo." He remarked with contempt and then he snapped his fingers and out in the nearby surroundings emerged six men armed with crossbows aimed at him with sabers behind their back.

To make matters worse, Jhast arrived with another seven men also armed with sabers and crossbows aimed at him, totaling fifteen.

Khray gulped, he was surrounded, and on the downside, he was not a frontline combatant but a saboteur operating on the backlines.

"Fellas, can't we go one on one, after all, aren't we all honorable men in a dreadful line of work? Come on we're ol' buddies, like a mouse reminiscing being chased by a cat." Khray joked but it was also to get his spirits up besides Jhast may agree on a one-on-one.

Everyone stayed silent, waiting for the orders to release their payload onto their

enemy then finally Jhast shouted "Release!" Arrows lined with poison dart their way to Khray.

Being on the perilous Sea of Souls makes one wary so when Khray heard the order, he immediately ducked down flat on his stomach and rolled like a barrel to his right, and used his knife to slit a shooter's throat. Without time to waste afterward, he threw all his smoke bombs in every direction.

'Poof' the smoke bombs exploded and Khray knowing that he couldn't buy enough time to escape, went straight away at the enemies, knowing that they couldn't change their crossbows with their sabers that fast, he capitalized on this situation to thin down their numbers.

He rushed straight and knocked down a shooter, plunging his knife in his chest. Recalling where every shooter was placed, he took four throwing knives from his bag then threw them at the nearest enemies: two immediately died, one bled to death, and the other with a superficial wound.

"Retreat northwards, back to position," Maru yelled a cold sweat rolling from his brow, a big mistake. Khray was in the northeast direction, and with enemies running past him, having no idea who was who, he grinned and came with a devious plan.

He silently stabbed someone from behind allowing him to have just enough strength to scream, "He's behind us!" the man yelled before Khray finished him off. The men stopped and looked at each other especially the guy from behind, "It wasn't me guys, didn't you hear the scream came from the left?" then they looked at the guy to the left and he answered just like the guy from the back. With no obvious answers and the men still clearly apprehensive, Khray decided to push the guy at the back to the guy at the front, and then chaos ensued, seeing someone move they all rushed to hack at him only that they were too close and also hacked those near them and Khray stayed behind and stabbing those who have killed their "opponents".

Jhast was still silent and eyeing the smoke, waiting for a clear sign of movement.

He then saw a frenzy in the middle but just thought of that as his men running as fast as they can. When the smoke cleared, he was repulsed; most of the men that he trained himself were cut down in a gruesome and bloody way.

He felt indignant not at Khray but himself because the frenzy he saw earlier was his men killing each other, and he just watched, not even as simple as shouting for them nor did he go inside the smoke, no, he just watched.

When the smoke cleared, of the fifteen men who surrounded him only five remain: Jhast, Maru, and three other henchmen. Khray felt confident seeing the damage he had done, after all, the end justify the means and Khray was not going to give up the Shard no matter what.

It was now five men vs one, they again surrounded him and Jhast this time was going to lead the strike. "Maru take the three men and bombard this madman when I say so," Jhast ordered and Maru seething with rage too nodded.

It was now one on one, "There's no more surrender Khray, you killed my men." Jhast said as he brandished his saber, "I wouldn't have it any other way." Khray replied then he lunged with dagger and knife in hand towards Jhast's, he used his saber and blocked the strike subsequently using his strength to drive Khray back and nicking his forehead with the edge of the blade.

Blood seeped out from the wound in the forehead but Khray paid it no heed. He was now circling Jhast and also eyeing Maru and the three men left, a slight mistake, and his life will be over. Jhast ran out of patience and dashed towards Khray with an overhead sweep; he immediately blocked with his knife and attempted to slash with his offhand dagger. A direct hit across Jhast's abdomen and blood was shed but it was a faint and Jhast scored a punch on Khray's face, afterward he whistled and a rain of arrows came speeding towards Khray, luckily for him his offhand dagger managed to block it but the dagger was knocked away by the impact, leaving him with only the serrated knife and the syringe.

Khray now felt a disadvantage and instantly injected himself with the syringe. Jhast saw this and felt warier, not knowing what he injected himself with and what it could do. All he could do was play defensively and hope for the best.

Khray too did not know what the liquid inside the syringe does nor if it has any side effects but he couldn't be bothered anymore, had he already injected himself. An instantaneous burst of power could be felt within; his body was burning and his muscles tightening.

Riding on the momentum, Khray burst out towards Jhast, aiming for a fatal strike. Jhast blocked but his arms turned sore, the strike was heavier than before. Khray retreated, scouting out openings in Jhast's defense then he struck this time faster and stronger, Jhast was immediately pushed back and Khray used his free hand to punch his face, he was stunned then Khray took the opportunity to stab his left side.

Jhast knew that this could not go on, there was only one way. He looked towards Maru and nodded, Maru could see the resolution in his boss's eyes and couldn't refute it thus he steeled himself and nodded.

Khray once more prepared to strike but this time it was to end it. No words needed to be said between them anymore, therefore they both rush towards each other with the intent to deal a fatal strike. Sparks fly as saber and knife clashed, Jhast not too keen on being overpowered a moment ago, channeled his inner strength and his veins were bulging and his eyes turned red. He bellowed and knocked back Khray, the shock evident on his face.

Jhast immediately rushed towards Khray not giving him any breathing room, he slashed left and right and Khray kept blocking but on the final strike, he slipped and fell. Jhast capitalized on this and turned his saber downwards, intending to skewer him however Khray barely dodge, losing his left arm in the process but the knife in his right hand managed to pierce through Jhast's abdomen.

Both men stared at each other, one kneeling and one standing. "Looks like I won, Capt." Khray stated with respect in his eyes, "Hahaha, It's not over yet, Sir." Jhast replied with a warm tone. Khray was puzzled as what Jhast meant until he felt blood trickling down his back, he looked back and down to see 4 arrows lodged neatly in a circular formation in his back then he looked back up to see Maru and the others with their empty crossbows aimed at him and tears welling in their eyes as their brothers are avenged but the boss may die.

"May you rest in Maca. Farewell my idol," Jhast whispered silently

Khray couldn't believe it; he was almost there with the Shard and won, but what happened and what went wrong? He couldn't know anymore thus he looked at Jhast and said "What a good fight, huh?" then he limp towards a forested area near the battlefield.

Maru shouted, "Can I get the honor of killing him and taking the Shard boss?" The rest of the men agreed with hate in their eyes however Jhast extinguished their cries of revenge, "The Underworld may be a lawless place but it doesn't mean it isn't honorable." He said with a firm tone of belief, "He is also poisoned from the arrows and that wound on his side," He sighed, "He won't last long."

Khray staggered through the forest and found a large withered black sequoia and sat down near the roots. He took out the Shard from his tattered backpack; the Shard was black with a shade of red, and the glint coming off of it was purple, and as he reminisced about the journey he undertook to find that Shard and being able to use it.

The trunk that he was leaning on suddenly opened up, and he tumbled down what felt like staircases, as he cursed who did this in his final moments in life, he stopped and stood up. In front of him was an archaic gateway that looked like it hadn't been used for millenniums, and so he limped his way slowly, hoping that it would be operable and he could use it to get away from this place wherever it takes him as he did not like giving the Shard to them.

He finally stood face to face with it and hoped, and then his prayers were answered as the gateway started to hum to life, and a rift formed afterward Khray jumped with no fear whatsoever.

On the battlefield, Jhast was currently getting bandaged up, and the dead were being gathered. "Maru, send two men to call for back-up and tell them we have Shard, then you and the other man come with me to search the forest." He ordered, and the men started doing their respective tasks.

Nearly an hour had passed, and they still couldn't find Khray, even with backup arriving less than an hour later, they still couldn't find him. Jhast was now getting anxious as they had just about combed the entire forest, and they still couldn't find him. "Am I going to get my skin stretched this time? If I am then I'm going to flay Maru's skin." He smirked with an evil grin as he doesn't want to experience it alone.