Bad Dream

Lucian's body felt like it was floating, his eyes were slightly open. He was looking up at the sky, it was blue and covered with a bit of clouds, the sun shining down. There was a strange feeling of relief deep within his body, as if he thought that everything would be alright. 

He didn't know what led to him to be in this situation. He only remembers walking inside his apartment, closing the door, and walking towards the restroom. His memory is still hazy, though, he didn't know exactly what he was doing before or after that part, he doesn't remember what color of his shirt and pants, he doesn't even remember if it was day or night when it happened. 

The last thing he remembers is the door to his restroom, that is all. 

What had happened to him? He was pulled in to another world all of a sudden and apparently, he was granted with a devastating power that he did not ask form, being captured by some lady who put him in an extremely painful process. 

The Hour and Four minutes were absolute hell for Lucian, every single second was nothing short of painful, like hot knives stabbing him at every inch of his body repeatedly. He was conscious the entire time, every minute and every second. 

It was only after it ended that he was dragged outside, his body charred and smoking, and merely left to cool down. He lost consciousness the moment he felt the fresh air of the outdoors. 

"Uh....." Lucian managed as he blinked

"Hm, it seems that the Seals did not kill you." A voice said

He slowly turned to his left, seeing the beautiful woman who held him captive standing next to him. 

Lunaris had her hands on her hips, "You look terrible." she said

Lucian merely rolled to his back and looked up, blinking as his entire body throbbed. 

"Your body has healed." Lunaris continued, "The Seals are in place, that's good." 

"W-What is this?" Lucian muttered

"What's that?" Lunaris asked as she looked at him

"What is this.....?" Lucian repeated, "Why am I here?" 

"You're a Traversed." Lunaris said, "I don't know why you Traversed are crossed over, but there's not helping it." 

"Why...." He said, "What did I do to deserve this? I just want to go home." 

"There is no home, not anymore." Lunaris said with a cold tone, "There is nowhere for you to go. Your best chance at survival besides turning into a rampaging Dragon God that is eventually burnt out and slaughtered by the Chaos Demons is staying with me, with my Sect." 

"I hate you....." Lucian said, "Everything hurts.....I....don't want this...I didn't ask this....I don't know who you are...Why did you do this to me?" 

"I saved you." Lunaris said with a frown, "I saved you from yourself. I don't expect you to be grateful, but I want you to understand that this was the best possible scenario for you. The 64 Seals of Infernis provide an unworldly amount of pain but that is it, after they're successful, you will not feel pain like that ever again." 

There was a tone of compassion in the woman's voice, Lucian was not aware if this was some sort of ruse or not. All he knew was that he felt angry, angry at this woman and his captors. But he didn't know why deep down, he felt a bit of relief. Something told him that despite all the pain he felt, he was glad he wasn't dead. 

"What am I?" Lucian said, "What is a Traversed? What's a Calamity?" 

"Hm." Lunaris crossed her arms, "I thought I explained it to you, but I suppose it'll take more than words to fully educate you. Get up." 

"I can't." Lucian said

"Find the strength." Lunaris said

"Pick me up." Lucian said

"Hmph." Lunaris walked up to him and kicked him on the side of his ribcage

"A-Agh!" Lucian exclaimed as he rolled to the side, "What the hell?!" 

"Lucian, huh?" Lunaris said, "What is your surname?" 

Lucian got to his knees, scowling, "I...." He stammered, "I don't know." 

"The Soulway must've messed with your head, jumbled your memories. All you know is your name, huh?" She said

"What is this place...?" Lucian asked

Lunaris gestured her arms outwards, "You're in Infernis, the Mortal Plane." She said with a slight smile, "Home of the Magical and Diabolical. But right now? You're in the countryside of the Bull-Kingdom, in the south of the Continent of Terra." 

"Terra?" Lucian said, "T-That's earth." 

"Well, Terra is ancient tongue for the word earth, yes." Lunaris said, "But not your world." 

"What's the Bull-Kingdom?" Lucian asked as he slowly got to his feet

"Well, it's a pretty peaceful country that is governed by the Bull-King, an old but powerful warrior." Lunaris said, "He's been in an alliance with the Darklight for decades now, he allowed me to look for Traversed in his territory and what do you know? I found you. If you were to rampage out further and transform into a Dragon God, chances were that the Bull-King and his army would've destroyed you." 

Lucian looked around as he clutched his stomach, "I...." He said, "Is this real? Am I dreaming? This is a dream, right?" 

"No." Lunaris said, "This is very real...I'm sorry, Lucian." 

Lucian looked at her, "What?" 

Lunaris sighed, "I don't wish for this upon anyone, but there's no other choice." She said as she shook her head, "Orders are orders. I would rather force you to serve me than kill you, an unfortunate soul that did not ask to be Cursed." 

Lucian took a step to the side, looking around to scan his surroundings. He noticed that the room he had spent a little over an hour in, being tortured by the magical spell, was off into the distance. He could still feel the searing pain of the seals, but for some reason, his body felt energized. It was more than odd to him. 

"You..." Lucian said, "I..." 

"Allow me to explain the situation, Lucian." Lunaris said, "I know that this is too much for you to bear, but I'll do my best to ease you into this. We're at War, the Unholy Crusades started not too long ago, and the forces of Evil are making a move on Terra. My Sect and several others have tried their best to negotiate a Treaty with the Imperium, to deal with the Demonic Armies." 

"What?" Lucian asked

"Okay, basically." Lunaris said while clapping her hands, "There are several factions, mine including, that are in charge of dealing with Demonic Activities, you know what demons are, right?" 

"T-They're real?" Lucian asked

"In this world, they are." Lunaris said, "Pay attention; The Sects have been trying to deal with the Imperium, the largest and most powerful dynasty of Humanity. We don't have to delve into the Imperium yet, but basically, a War has started with the Demonic Armies and we're trying to prepare for them. As we speak, several locations in Terra have been transformed into hellscapes that act as gateways from the Hell Planes to Infernis." 

Lucian nodded, "I am getting little to nothing here." He said, "So basically....this is the classic Demon King magical world, huh?" 

Lunaris snapped her fingers, "Correct." She said, "You Traversed are well-versed in these types of situations, huh?" 

"We read them in stories only." Lucian frowned, "That's all." 

"Well, basically, the leader of my Sect, the Arch-Magus." Lunaris continued, "He has ordered me to contain the Calamity, you, and condition it to be our weapon, or soldier. He has given me two months to prepare you for the field." 

Lucian raised his eyebrow, "What?" 

"I'm serious." Lunaris said as she crossed her arms, "I need to get you to comfortably release at least 3 Seals. That way, we can have you in the conflict and deal with minor threats." 

"So..." Lucian said, "I'm like your Slave Warrior?" 

Lunaris shook her head, "You're not a slave." 

"I don't know, I was forced into this..." Lucian said as he lifted his hands to reveal what looked like stone cuffs without the chains on his wrists, "And these look like those shock-collar type things, except for my hands." 

"Hm." Lunaris said, "That is true, those shock bracelets are meant to for prisoners, but I've tinkered with those. They're merely pain-tolerance gauges. I have it at the lowest setting, here...." 

Lunaris pulled a small metallic tube from her pocket that had a red button on the top of it. She then pressed it and suddenly, Lucian's hands jerked upwards as he felt a shock in his wrists. 

"A-Ah!" Lucian exclaimed, "What gives?" 

"Your body is still sensitive." Lunaris said

"What makes you think I'll agree to fight for you?!" Lucian scowled, "You all forced me into this! I didn't have a say in this!" 

"That is true." Lunaris said, "You didn't. But let me tell you one thing; neither you nor I have a say in this. But come with me, I want to show you something." 

***************************************************

Lucian widened his eyes as he stood on a cliff, next to Lunaris, overlooking what looked like the remains of a village. 

"W-What is this?!" he exclaimed

Half of the village was obliterated, nothing but craters and burnt-down buildings remained. The other half was still damaged, and parts of the buildings were torn off. He noticed that there were people there, rummaging through the remains of the debris. 

"The result of your rampage." Lunaris said with her arms crossed, "You don't remember?" 

Suddenly, Lucian got flashes of the events that had caused this; 

He was suddenly transported, in his mind, to the village. He saw the burning buildings and the screams of the people as they ran away from a massive figure that was distorted and shrouded in a thick shadow, a massive roar resounding through the air as the ground shook violently. The earth was being ripped apart as flames burned through everything. 

Lucian shook his head, snapping back to the present after that quick flash of his memory. 

"N-no..." He stammered

"Yes. That was you." Lunaris said, "Three dead." 

Lucian widened his eyes, "What?!" 

Lunaris looked at him, "You accidentally killed a family of three." She said, "But it's okay...." 

"It wasn't your fault."