Ch01. The great pretender

"So you came here to kill me..." Ruun looked at the group of six, tired and bloodied heroes, all wearing well-crafted armors.

Their armors were all broken, and the heroes were all sprawled around him.

He had a bored look on his face.

"As you may know by now, even though you're quite powerful, you still can't kill me. So I will make an exception, and let you leave, under the condition that you never come back."

"How long... Are you... Going to look... Down on us...?"

"We are... The heroes of this world... And we can't…"

"Okay, now you asked for it."

Ruun appeared instantly in front of the young-looking man, grabbed him by his hair with one hand, and dug into his chest with the other.

Blood poured from the hole in the hero's chest, as his heart lay in Ruun's hand, still beating.

"So... You think you're the heroes, just because some mighty constellation has bestowed her powers upon you... Yeah, good. But, aren't you interested in knowing the other side of the story?"

The only answer was the heroes' silent tears, and wild glare towards Ruun.

"Right, I didn't think so. That is why your friend here, died. And now... I'm tired of playing games... Now, it's your turn to die."

But as Ruun let their comrade's body fall, lifeless and shredded, to the floor of his castle, one of the remaining heroes shouted.

"NOW!"

Suddenly, a blinding light fell from the skies over Ruun, and he was unable to move out of it.

"So your matron decided to join the party...?"

[They know they can't kill you,] the Great Constellation said in her true voice, echoing through the castle walls, making Ruun's remaining followers burst in a bloody pool of dead flesh. [But with my help, they can imprison you.]

Ruun grinned.

He knew she was right, but he knew far more than just that.

"No matter what you do, you'll regret that decision once you realize who you're teaming up with, I promise you."

"Shut up, you scum! You will not spread your evil over Earth anymore!"

The heroes struggled, but all Ruun did was walk back to his throne and sit there quietly, bored, even.

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

[Stay in the Abyss for eternity!] The Constellation said.

And then, the blinding light exploded, leaving nothing but Ruun's empty throne.

The heroes fell down, panting heavily.

Sweat covered their brows, but they could finally breathe again.

They were victorious!

The Constellation came down from the skies, right in front of them, and they thought she would congratulate them.

They had gotten rid of the most dangerous threat that the world had ever seen, after all.

But the Constellation, arriving in front of them in human form, looking like a beautiful woman, turned around, and sat on Ruun's throne.

"You have served me well, champions."

She wasn't using her true voice now, or else the heroes would already be dead, standing face to face with her.

"I cannot say that you did not do a good job, but if it was not for me, you would all be dead. So... Now that you got rid of the menace for me…"

She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, a bright purple glow shone.

"Die!"

One by one, the heroes began crying blood, and then, they started bleeding from all their pores.

Until they were dead.

But one, the team's tank, was more resilient than the others, and resisted a little longer.

"Wh-Why...?"

"Why not?"

The Constellation's tone was dry as a desert, and bored.

"You already helped me trap Ruun in the Abyss, and now that he is out of the way, I am free to rule as I please."

But there was another hero, a teenage mage girl named Theresa, and she had the ability to conceal herself from anything and anyone.

And she witnessed as all her friends died in front of her eyes.

She trembled and wanted to vomit, but most of all...

'I can't believe he was right all this time... What did we fight for all along? I have to do something!'

But as she felt the power of the Great Constellation, she could do nothing but run away from Ruun's castle.

Now the Great Constellation's.

Theresa ran as fast and quietly as she could, until she was as far away as possible from the castle.

And when she got home, she could already sense the dark clouds and the legion of monstrosities being summoned by the Great Constellation.

It wouldn't take long before everything that existed was hers.

***

One thousand years later

***

Ruun panted heavily, leaning against Kora's back.

Around them, only vast and deserted plains, covered in blood and monstrous beast carcasses.

"What... Are you going to do... Once you leave... The Abyss, master?"

Kora's voice was shallow, and she breathed in deep gulps of air.

"I don't know." Ruun's voice sounded tired, but nonchalant. "Maybe live a peaceful life, buy a house, maybe a dog."

They both sat down, as they looked at the gigantic beast carcass that lay in front of them.

Kora broke out in laughter.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Of course I am, kid!" Ruun laughed, too. "I'm going to make those bastard heroes pay dearly for sending me here. And after that, I'm gonna say 'I told you so', and go back to my castle, to kill that fucking constellation. And you're coming with me."

Ruun smiled.

"But why are you so sure that they'll summon you back? I mean, aren't they kinda... Dead, by now? You know, a millennia is a very long time…"

Ruun got up, and lent his hand so that Kora could get up, too.

He never thought that the Abyss would have so many powerful beings.

Even more powerful than himself.

But he had worked hard, found a friend, and was able to acquire the Abyss' Heart, which would allow him to finally be free to kill the Great Constellation, once and for all.

Ruun held Kora's hand and looked at the horizon, full of darkness and smoke.

"Oh, but I know they will. There was a hero hiding from me while I fought the others. She didn't notice, but I knew she was there, even though I was the only one who did. She's a mage, and even if she's not alive to tell the tale, she's smart. She'll have left something. And then, I already have plans on how I'm gonna get things the way they were."

And as they started walking, a blinding red light shone in front of them, as a portal opened to reveal the form of a teenage girl, very similar to the hero that Ruun once knew.

"See? I told you so." Ruun smirked.

The girl reached her hand through the portal, and shouted in an angry manner.

"We... We need you, Ruun! Please, come back!"

Ruun smiled, and took the girl's hand.

"Let's go, Kora. Time to finish some business."