Prologue

The intimidating green sky was patched with dark, grey clouds. Thunder fell from the clouds as if rain, falling on the battlefield bellow. The aura of hell shrouded the horizons.

The lightning did not affect the warriors one bit. They treated it as if a normal shower. Yes, this was normal in the Abyss.

The battle was unlike others. It was extremely fast paced, more like a blur, and just as much deadly. This scene was what gore meant. The ever increasing piles of dead and maimed bodies under the close-to-dead warriors were truly a vicious sight. The crunching sounds of crumbling bones and the ripping sounds of tearing flesh were extremely unsettling as they gave in to the pressure from the soldiers marching above them.

Screams filled with agony, despair and pain filled the air but shouts filled with determination and heroism over-shadowed them.

The humans were at a disadvantage but they could not loose hope.

The elves had perished, the dwarves were gone. With no signs of Demi-humans, only humans survived, until now. This was the last battle of hope. The battle against the humans and the Abyss. The only chance for survival.

The abyssal beings gathered together under the call of their guardian. The humans banded for the chance of survival.

The thousand humans fighting the million monsters. Only for one little piece of carved stone.

[Hope]

"Second Squad! To the right! Third! Resurface! Fourth! Descend! Fifth! From the left! Sixth! Circle behind! First! CHARGE FORTH!" The bellowing shouts of the commander could be heard as they suppressed the sounds of war. Humans did not need to win this battle. They were here only as distractions.

...

"Hurry, hurry! They won't last for long!" The man hurried the five behind him as he jumped over the narrow river flowing swiftly as it cut through the natural path formed inside the Great Mountain. The six of them were assigned to sneak inside the Guarded Zone and capture [Hope] while the rest delayed the Guardian and its forces.

They had found the passage accidentally which ended up at the edge of the Gaurded Zone. The six hastily rushed forward, not daring to waste a second. However, before the one in the rear jumped over the river to join the others, he turned back to briefly glance behind him.

...

In a vast hall illuminated by thousands of bright orbs, the six did not stop to look at the walls made of gold nor the intricate designs on them. Crystals and gems were used to make the path which ended at the pillar made of diamond in the middle. All the mountains of gold did not even enter their eyes because they were already filled. The twelve eyes were all set on a single item resting inside the cavity in the pillar made of diamond.

[Hope] !

This was the name they had given this treasure worth more than everything combined present in the hall. A completely black stone, shaped with the apex of precision with an Infinite amount of regular sides. All the triangles, squares, pentagons, hexagons and octagons combined to form the most complex of patterns. The stone was only as large as a fist but everything was so detailed that one might keep staring at it for eternity and still not be willing to part with it.

So close!

Just a little more!

They just needed to retrieve the item and safely transport it back to the chosen one.

"Haha! We can do this!" One of the six dashed forward as he reached out for the item.

"Idiot! There are restrictions and traps!" The one in the rear shouted in vain. The idiot successfully triggered the alarm and ruined the plan in the most unprofessional way. A searing torrent of flames erupted from under his feet, burning the person to death. The rest ignored his ashes and started working on disabling the restrictions.

But... Just when they were finished, "Roar!" The Guardian had arrived!

"We have no time to transport it back! The person who finds the chance, use it on yourself!" One of the remaining five declared as he lurched forward to grab the stone. The five scattered around the hall as the Guardian came crashing in from one of the walls.

A size reaching a hundred meters, a long neck, menacing teeth. Dark scales as thick as men and tall spikes pointier than thorns. A long tail and sharp claws with huge wings spreading across the skies. This was the Guardian, an existence they had to offend.

The hall's area would be measured in kilometers and there was enough space for them to spread and scatter to a reasonable degree.

But all was for naught. The Guardian opened it's mouth, revealing a set of sharp and long teeth but they were not the cause of the five's racing hearts.

A light began to form inside that mouth, just at the tip of the tongue.

The light expanded and...

Blow!

The Guardian breathed out an immense torrent of fire spreading across the whole hall.

"Quick! Shatter it!" The person with the stone threw it towards the man on the other side of the hall, the farthest from the fire. The person in the rear had somehow reached the other end of the hall, only an inch from the fire's range. The others only had enough time to pass on their hopes onto him along with the [Hope].

Blake stared at his companions' faces as they burned to death with an emotionless expression as he caught the stone. The fire had either burned or melted all the treasures along with the golden walls, revealing the deadly battlefield to him. He looked at it briefly, scanning for someone's whereabouts. Soon, Blake's eyes met with his, the commander's.

The distance of miles between them was ignored as their eyes peered into each other's. After some time, the both of them nodded at each other.

Blake turned his head to look at the Guardian's teeth inches away from him. Each one was half as big as himself. While he was busy with the commander, the Guardian had already readied its fangs for him. Blake faintly smiled. He remained expressionless even at death's door.

Raising his hand which held the stone, he pointed it towards the Guardian which was so close that his actions could be described as him putting his arm inside its mouth!

Crack!

The stone crumbled into dust in his hands.