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The war has just begun, and things aren't going well for humans just yet. With the Goddess gone, the demon

queen's cruel commands leave humans to be either killed or used as slaves. But, the humans have built a resistance

bunker - where you either work or are an escapist. Somewhere, up in the sky, the great goddess, Kyuia Onama, is

stuck in a eternal prison. Some hope she someday breaks out to save the human race - but others have gave up on

their dreams.... their loved ones.... and their lives.

Oh how delightful fate could be. She was a gracious one, with a good sense of humor. She masked her gifts with suffering. A razor sharp present that hurt to open, but the contents made the efforts worth it. Something had gone wrong when he died. Rather than be sentenced to enteral suffering, he became something else. That was fate's first present to Aster.

He strides around the grounds in Hell, walking at an impossibly fast speed. He analyzes the same sight he had seen for Centuries. Tormented souls scream out in the distance for help that would never come. He too, had once been screaming out like them, but for very different reasons.

There was a lack of prey in Hell. His deep hunger for blood could rarely be met. Until now... Oh how gracious fate was for opening the portal between the living and the dead. Once, he could only dream of crossing over into the living world, hunting prey that was living rather than dead. So what was stopping him now? He should be helping the other demons control Aiona Deka, so why was he holding back?

Aster growls and picks up his speed. His agitated pacing stops once he picks up on a familiar scent. Lady Persephone, she was close! There was only two beings that genuinely terrified Aster and she was one of them! Aster shuts his eyes and deactivates his ability. He becomes significantly less threatening, looking far more human than demonic.

He moves towards Lady Persephone's location, nervously adjusting his tie as he approaches. He still has no knowledge of how he had gotten this suit. Perhaps it was what he died in. He doesn't have time to think about it though, because Persephone was in sight. "Lady Persephone" Aster greets while bowing respectfully. "What do you command me to do?" He asks. He doesn't move, he remains bowing, too afraid to move without her command. He peers at her, somehow he manages to hide the look of fear within his eyes.

"Make sure none of the working slaves has escaped, and make sure the guards are on their duty. The mages should be at work opening the portal, so check on that. If one has escaped, bring me the one responsible immediately." She had a harsh tone in her voice on the last command. One of the mages had been purposefully closing the portal, and well... It did not end well for them. She sent out some loyal guards, and started chanting something to strengthen the mages.

He held a much simpler life before all of this chaos. He used to be a simple mercenary, taking on odd jobs to make ends meet. He was talented, sure, but nobody knew who he was. He barely scraped by. He made a few friends, as all people tend to do on their journeys, but he grew bitter and resentful towards the world that had never given him anything despite his efforts. And a few years ago, he joined the war on the side of the demons. He decided that he didn't care about other people. He gave up on his humanity. and now, that leads up to this moment, where Neo-Flynn Sanchez, more commonly known nowadays as "Abyss" is prowling around in a small forest off the side of some kingdom.

---

"Understood" Aster responds while straightening up. A dark urge kicks in, fueled by Persephone's command. Yes, this is the moment you've been waiting for Aster thinks to himself while he rushes out of the room towards a window. His form changes again. Claws and a devlish horn appear, his jaw breaks slightly so it can become more narrow, similar to a muzzle. He opens his mouth, tasting fear in the distance. He grins and places his hands on either side of the window, catching movement down below.

Human slaves were busy at work. Their hearts were hammering in their chests. Poor things, despite being here for awhile, they had not grown use to their sentence. They were terrified. How boring. How many Centuries has Aster been here for? Too long. He needed something new, something fun! Soon, Aster would be able to cross into the living world. He would once again roam Aiona Deka. Newfound excitement hits Aster and a crazed laugh bursts out of him.

He leaps from the window and scales the roof down towards the ground, where he takes his time nearing the portal. He glares at the mages, almost daring one of them to reverse their work. He didn't understand their magic, so he would have no idea if one of them started to reverse the progress. Still, he wouldn't doubt his presence worried them. He was only scared of two beings... These beings weren't it. He bares his teeth at them, itching for a fight, but decides to wait. One would come soon. That, he was certain of.

Once upon a time she was just the kid apprentice to a master scientist. The most excitement she had was when Professor Kauri would give her discarded bits of magical tech to mess around with. And that was all she had needed. Sunny days saw her armed with the latest specs building framework in the pit, rainy days saw her drafting plans and doing calculations on the blackboard. And through it all, Professor Kauri had been there, the only father she had ever known. But then the demons came back. They took everything.

She saw them first, and came running back to the labs to warn everyone. Should have been faster. She had barely managed to shout a warning when the wall in front of her was smashed to pieces, and they were thrown to the ground. Should have expected that. Her small, scavenged piece of lead piping had been a useless weapon when they grabbed her from behind. Should have fought harder. They forced her to watch as they killed them all, one by one. Shouldn't have cried. And when she begged them for a quick death, they only laughed.

"You're too pretty of a little thing for us to send to Hell today." That voice haunted her dreams. "We'll just give you a little reminder of our power. And always remember, Caerthynna Elysium: those that died today were the lucky ones." Laughter as sharp as knives.

She woke up the next day in a pile of blood, not all of it her own, and tried to forget. And when that didn't work, she left. And when that didn't work either, she came back. She buried the dead, and got back to work.

She dug deep into the earth and created a safe haven among the ruins. Nowhere was truly safe anymore. She had rescued more knowledge than she had dared to hope for, and continued her education down among the sticks and bones. She woke up every morning screaming. The cursed wound on her face bleached her skin and hair, leaving an ugly, white scar she would forever hate. That was only what everyone could see.

She tried to live in the new normal, but hated every second of it. She found a kinship in like-minded individuals. Slowly, time passed and she grew older. She was offered an invitation to change the world. Without hesitating, she accepted it. She and her machines gained a purpose again. Weapons became her trade. Violence already was her life. She found that she had become eccentric in her time away from humans. The person she became was a pale mirror of herself from the before.

She also found that years of anger had driven her to become stronger. She could run and climb faster after living with her fear of being chased. And her eyes, though cursed, could see further than ever. The day she picked up a bow almost made her forget her anguish; a calming natural extension of her arm. She brewed poisons for her arrows and cross-bolts. Throughout it all she built, defying the laws of the possible. Her once loved passion held so many bad memories.

But Caerthynna Elysium always believed she would find the soul of her old Professor in Hell. And so she swore that she would journey to Hell and back if she had to, and meant every word of it.

---

Abyss once again checked the paper he had been given when he had accepted this job. Nowadays, he just accepted whatever jobs he had been given, not really caring about who or what his targets were. His most recent job was to eliminate someone. His target was an inventor who had been supplying all sorts of weapons and equipment to the resistance. Catheryyna? that name seemed familiar. Abyss shrugged. It couldn't've been important if he forgot. Maybe it was someone he met in the past. He's forgotten a lot from his past. It didn't really bother him.

---

Athena sat in her simple office and stared at the far wall. This was just the beginning, worse was yet to come. And she wasn’t sure if she could handle it. She was very young for someone in the Resistance. Yes, she was smart, but the whole of the Resistance depended on those smarts. And they were limited. One wrong move, and they could get obliterated in battle, or run out of rations, or erupt into chaos. There were so many factors to consider, opinions to listen to. Her worst fear was that she could make a mess and kill everyone she cared about.

---

"An inventor with close ties to the resistance? wouldn't it just be easier to take out the local resistance base? If I go for the inventor right now, she would likely call for allies." Abyss paused. "Wait, I don't even know where the inventor is. It is possible that she would be in the nearby resistance base. If so, I could kill two birds with one stone and wipe out a resistance base and a pesky supplier." Abyss nodded. "I should go for the base, just to be safe."

Abyss arrived at the resistance base. He had found the location a while back when he was scouting the area, but had decided to leave it alone. Now, though, he decided to strike.

---

Athena had given up feeling depressed to get some fresh air on the balcony. She had just gotten there when she spotted someone rapidly approaching. “Intruder alert! Intruder alert!” She sounded the alarm and ran inside to get everyone prepared and make sure they were following protocol.

---

Abyss casually sliced through guards with his dual knives with brutal efficiency, aiming for their joints and weak points. By the time he had gotten to the main chamber, his clothes were splattered with blood, daggers dripping. He pushed open the doors. The guards had done almost nothing to him, as he was way out of their weight class.

"What a nice gathering of people."

---

“N-Neo? What are you doing here? And I thought you’re dead?”

---

Abyss tilted his head slightly.

"Neo? How does a small child know of him?"

Abyss laughed.

"I'm not Neo, kid. He died a long time ago."

"besides, I just killed half your guards. Shouldn't you focus on that?"

---

Athena was still stunned. It took her a moment to realize everyone was looking at her expectantly. Taking a deep breath she screamed, “Attack! But don’t kill him!”

---

He laughed a harsh laugh.

"You're leading them to their deaths. Just like how you did with Neo."

He grinned maliciously.

"I remembered something when I saw your face, Athena. I remember how you urged Neo always to do the right thing. and how the last time you urged him to do the right thing, he got killed."

---

“W-what? I-I…”

---

"He took that last job for you, you know. He cared a lot. The last thing he thought about was you, you know?"

Abyss sliced through the people coming at him.

"The thing that kept him alive for almost 3 months before getting swallowed by the Abyss was 'Athena will come for me. I know she will,' you know?"

---

“I-I thought you were dead…”

---

"You really let him down."

Abyss took off his mask.

"Neo IS dead. My name is not Neo. Not anymore. You killed him. My name is Abyss."

---

Athena just stood there, frozen, as the rest of the Resistance charged him. This wasn’t possible. No, not at all. All the reports had said Neo was dead, but here he was, slicing through her friends like they were made of clay. She should have gone looking for him. But she didn’t. She just gave up on him. Told herself he was dead, gone, never to come back.

---