Prologue

//I'm the original author of this. Got locked out of my account.

The character will start off pretty pathetic, but that's the point. The character development will go stupid, so have some faith in me, and I promise I PROBABLY won't disappoint.

As with everything, though, there are no guarantees. Anyway, here's the Sneak Peak.

Let me know if you want another chapter for it or you'll take a pass.

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It was dark and cold, the type of environment that sent chills down one's spine, the type to make one feel on edge at the slightest sound no matter how trivial. A place where creatures from hell spawned from the very depths, seeking only to pulverize and destroy those who entered its confines. Danger lurking around every corner with beings strong enough to crack apart concrete via a simple swing of their appendages. It was an area that not just anyone could enter without proper training and equipment.

Tenebra Vorago found himself in the very center of it all, surrounded on all sides by entities he had never seen before, monsters with glowing red eyes and vicious faces covered in drool and dried up blood. He had no idea how he had wound up in that position nor the foggiest clue as to his destination, but he didn't really care.

In his own mind, he had already died years ago. Closing his eyes, the black-haired youth shut his grey hues off from the world, plunging it into darkness as he awaited his inevitable end.

To Tenebra, this was it. That was how his story concluded. And he was quite fine with it. The pain and suffering brought about by the world and its various inhabitants would cease once and for all, allowing him to drift peacefully in oblivion for the rest of eternity.

He wasn't scared, merely disappointed. Disappointed in himself for never having stood up to the constant abuse, to the world for how it had treated him.

Well, it wasn't like it was any concern for him any longer.

SHING! CRACK!!

A strange number of noises filled Tenebra's ears within that split second of closing his eyes. The sound of metal ripping through flesh and bone, the splashing of liquid as it impacted the very ground the youth rested upon, the unearthly roars of pain by the beasts that surrounded him. Muted thuds echoed around the cavern walls as multiple heavy objects hit the ground one after another. The clicking and growls emitted by the spawns of the underworld slowly diminished until there was nothing left but the sound of Tenebra's breathing and his own heartbeat. There was no pain, no awaited oblivion. Just him sitting in the same spot twiddling his thumbs.

"Are you alright, kid? Not hurt, are you?"

The black haired teen slowly opened his eyes once more in response to the voice, a pair of stormy grey orbs shifting as it took in the immediate environment.

Sprawled around him, blood pooling around his bruised and scratched up knees, were the corpses of the monsters that had encircled him, corpses that were somehow dissolving into nothingness. Something akin to black smoke or some kind of powder fell off the deceased savages and dissipated into the very air, leaving behind some kind of weird colored gemstone. Upon closer inspection, the inside of the gemstone in question seemed to swirl and shift, as if it possessed some sort of immense power begging to be released. Tenebra didn't have much clue about the world, but he had never heard of a swirling rock in his entire thirteen years alive. Eventually, after half a minute, all that remained of the monsters were those same stones, though they all varied in size.

"Ahem."

Tenebra shifted his gaze at the sound of a throat being cleared.

Standing before him was a rather tall woman, standing at around 170cm, with long black hair that fell down to the middle of her back. She had tanned skin, though it may have just been a permanent, very light brown, and a singular red eye, her other one being covered by a midnight colored eyepatch. She had a chest that was well above average, which she kept in a white sleeveless top trimmed in pink that ended just above her belly button. On her left shoulder was a shoulder guard and a katana sheath attached to her left hip. Her pants were simply a red hakama and sandals.

She looked like one of the cosplayers Tenebra would sometimes notice on his way to and from school. The only difference was that the blade she was wielding was more than just for show, a fact evidenced by the blood still dripping from the sharpened end of the instrument.

"Are you okay? Can you speak?"

GRRRRRUUUUUOOOOHHHH!!!!

A ferocious roar rang through the area, a beastly battle cry that almost made Tenebra cover his ears. A number of monsters had made their appearance, replacing the ones that had been cut down by the woman's sullied blade. The mysterious female didn't seem to be too bothered by this, though, as she swiped her weapon downward, flicking off the red liquid that coated its metallic surface.

"More of them, huh? I guess this'll be a good chance to test its durability." She raised her katana as the multitude of behemoths approached her. "Stay here, kid."

WOOSH!

A blur of blonde and white dashed past the two of them, an entity moving far faster than Tenebra's eyes could track. Before the youth had time to blink, the unknown individual pierced through the ranks of demonic beings and dropped them to the floor without so much as slowing down.

"Well, never mind then. Guess you managed to catch up, Ais." The woman calmly stowed her weapon back into its sheath. Despite the environment they were in, she looked oddly calm and not the least bit worried. "Thought getting rid of those Bloodsaurus' would have taken you longer."

"Not long. They weren't tough." The one responsible for ending the monsters lives walked over, sheathing her blade. "Tione helped."

"Ah. Gotcha."

The new arrival was a bit taller than Tenebra himself was, maybe around 162 or 165cm, with a head of bright golden blonde hair that reached her lower back. Golden eyes stared back at the black-haired youth, eyes that didn't seem too expressive apart from a soft curiosity and a hint of caution. The girl donned a white and black battle cloth, black arm covers, and long blue boots. Over this particular clothing, she wore some armor over this consisting of a head guard, breastplate, arm guards, hip guards, and knee guards. Attached to her hip was a sword, the same one she had used to end the lives of the monsters.

"Who is he?" The girl gestured to the collapsed individual on the ground. She spoke softly and in a sort of monotonous tone that, like her expressions, lacked any discernable emotions. "An.....adventurer?"

"Not sure. He hasn't said anything since I got here." The woman turned her attention away from the girl and onto Tenebra. "What's your name, kid?"

"My name..." The youth tried to speak but it came out garbled and chopped, as if someone had taken the time to punch him in the throat. Which wasn't too far off. "....is Tenebra Vorago."

The older woman glanced towards the girl before kneeling down. "Tenebra huh? I like it. I'm Tsubaki Collbrande."

"Ais Wallenstein," The other girl chimed in. "Are you okay?"

Tenebra didn't answer at first as he pried himself off the ground, of which was still coated in the blood of the deceased monsters. Red liquid coated his legs as well as the palms of his hands, but he ignored them, trying his best to remain upright. Due to circumstances beyond his control, he was pretty badly injured, and his knees felt as sturdy as butter left out in the hot sun. However, he didn't let that stop him. Without uttering a sound, he fully righted himself and even took a few test steps to make sure he could move without falling back onto the vine covered ground. Once he was able to do that, he glanced towards the blonde girl, the one who said her name was Ais, and gave her a solid nod.

"How'd you get down here, Tenz?" Tsubaki inquired. "Where's your familia?"

"Fami...lia?" Tenebra wasn't familiar with the word, a frown appearing on his face.

Admittedly, though, he wasn't familiar with anything that was going on around him. From the spawns of evil that had emerged to rip him to shreds, to the vast forest he had found himself in, to the two individuals who had saved him. Nothing about it was something he was acquainted with, an array of events that completely stepped out of the reality he knew and into the realm of fantasy. Granted, he knew very little outside of the life he had lived, something that had been by design, but he knew enough to realize how fantastical his environment was. Enough to know that he wasn't anywhere close to the place he was hesitant to call home.

Even despite this, however, he wasn't panicked over the realization, nor was he afraid of the ongoings surrounding him. In truth, he didn't feel much of anything in that moment, only acceptance and a tad bit of curiosity.

Tsubaki frowned slightly at Tenebra's answer but said nothing as she rose back to her feet. Glancing around, the woman began to look around the immediate vicinity as if looking for some kind of clue. However, once she was unable to allocate one, she let out a sigh and moved back to where the other two were.

"We'll have to figure it out later," Tsubaki concluded, a hand wrapping around the hilt of her katana. "We have to catch up with the rest of the group. Can you walk Tenz?"

Tenebra took a few more test steps, fighting against the heaviness in his limbs every step of the way, as if gravity had doubled down on him out of spite. Noticing the youth struggling, the woman didn't even wait for Tenebra to answer her question before kneeling down, placing her arms behind her, and gesturing for the teen to climb on. Without a word, the black-haired individual accepted the offer and clambered onto her back.

From there, the three of them made their way deeper into the sea of trees.

That was probably the main oddity that separated the current reality from the one Tenebra was used to. For the most part, the three of them were situated in some sort of cavern, an abnormally large cave that extended for an indeterminate length. A whole forest existed within this same said cavern, filled with a maze of unfamiliar trees and other types of vegetation. Even leaving aside the monsters that spawned through the ceiling and walls, the entire area felt like something created from the imagination of someone who had watched or read far too much fantasy. Still, Tenebra didn't bother to say anything aloud as the females picked up the pace, making a beeline through the dense treeline.

They were fast, almost to the point where the youth felt like he was going to fly off from the sheer speed. He was forced to grip on tight, wrapping his arms around Tsubaki's neck.

Along the route they were taking, the trio would occasionally run into different types of monsters, but each time, Ais would swiftly strike them down, gracefully moving around them with her sword. The way her blade shifted through the air, it was like some kind of dance, a blur of silver that could snuff the life out all things with sheer speed and elegance.

It didn't take them very long to reach their destination, namely a large group of individuals dressed in abnormal clothing and gear. Though, considering where Tenebra was, it wasn't actually that abnormal.

Weapons. Armor. Clothing. Appearance. Everything about the mishmash of strangers screamed otherworldly, from the enormous double-sided metallic blade one girl held like it was paperweight to the green haired woman with long pointy ear. There was an older man with wolf ears and a tail and another with moving cat ears. Tenebra found it all quite fascinating, perhaps the first genuine emotion he had felt since awakening in such a unique environment. His curiosity growing every second, he wanted to walk through and get an up close and personal look.

However, it wasn't possible within that given moment considering the quality of his own bodily functions.

As the two females walked up to them, a number of people stepped to the side, allowing them to pass straight on through. Most of them continued to chat amongst themselves, but a few offered some words to Tsubaki and Ais as they walked on by, either greeting them or cracking some jokes.

Ais mainly just nodded, but Tsubaki would respond to a number of them without hesitation. Tenebra found the dynamic to be quite interesting.

After a few moments, the girls reached the front of the pack, ultimately stopping when they arrived in the midst of a team of perhaps the oddest looking ones within the group. Two girls with skin not exactly brown and not exactly tan, a green-haired elf, a small youthfull looking blonde, and a short man with hairy features but a sturdy build.

"Ah, Ais. Tsubaki. You made it back." The short one was the first to speak up. "Did you figure out..."

The blondes voice trailed off as he noticed Tenebra, of whom was still looking around, taking everything in. He didn't seem happy but he didn't seem to be disappointed or upset either, instead touching his chin thoughtfully. The youths eyes and the small ones light blue eyes locked onto each other, neither one looking away. After a few seconds, the stranger shifted back towards Tsubaki.

"Who's this?"

"We found him on the 30th Floor, where we split off," Tsubaki explained. "He was about to be swarmed by monsters so we stepped in. Obviously, we couldn't just leave him there by himself, so I brought him over here. I was hoping you'd know what to do with him Finn."

Finn Deimne narrowed his eyes, clearly thinking carefully about something. What it was, Tenebra could only guess.

"What's your name?" Finn asked directly.

"Tenebra Vorago," the youth replied, forcing his voice to go through despite how much it hurt. "Who are.....you?"

"My name is Finn Deimne, leader of the Loki Familia." The man smiled, moving closer to Tsubaki. Once he got close enough, the woman set Tenebra down onto the floor, allowing him to stand on his own. "And what Familia do you belong to, Tenebra?"

"I don't think he knows what a Familia is," Tsubaki said as she wiped the blood off her skin. Some of the blood from Tenebra's legs had unintentionally been swiped onto her clothes and exposed flesh. "I asked him about it but he could only tell me his name. Maybe he doesn't have any memories?"

"Can you remember anything? Anything at all to help?" Finn gave the youth a respectable space but stayed within arms reach. "Any family? Or friends? Someone you came down here with, into the Dungeon?"

Tenebra ignored all of that and posed a question of his own.

"Dungeon?"