Dante's p.o.v

 

Location: ???

 

 

"Ah, my head." I moaned out in pain as I placed my right hand on my forehead to comfort my aching head, but something on my arm caught my attention as I finally realized that my arms were bandaged up and it seemed that I was dressed in a somewhat combat uniform while my remaining body was not covered up. But that was not the only thing I noticed about my current form. 'what are these veins around my arm... and my neck? What is this collar around it.'

"what's going on, Where am I again… I thought I was dead." I questioned myself while getting back on my feet and observed my new surroundings properly. Taking the first step forward, I finally focused on the extremely tall tower in front of me, which disappeared into the void heavens. I made my way to the entrance of the tower and kept on assessing the structure and the strange mana that seemed to seep out of its walls. "What is this place? Wait, what?"

 

sudden flash back

 

"…huh?"

I felt a sudden hit to my side, throwing me out of my void state and filling me with something I thought I'd never feel again… pain

Hitting the edge of a very tall tower, the momentum flung me directly straight to the bottom floor of the tower, slamming through every floor and making my whole bones shake with every impact. but upon reaching the final floor, the impact I made with the ground must have shook the entire tower as a result of the force.

 

End of flash back

 

 

I gasped at the realization of what had happened after I died: "I was attacked... and I'm okay now... how… Who did it?"

I tried to scan the area around me to sense for the closest mana presence nearby, and to my surprise... the whole area was deserted with no sign of life… nothing… Even the nature mana around me is void of mana, but how? 'This doesn't make any sort of sense to me! If I'm not dead then, where am i?'

"DAMN IT! If I'm not dead, then where am I? FATHER ALFRED! TRINITY! RIN! LUCA! MARK! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?" I got caught off by a sudden sword attack directly from the entrance of the tower, with a chain attached to its handle of the blade that was heading directly towards me at a very furious speed, but due to my heightening instincts and fast reflexes, I managed to evade it by performing a 360-degree cock screw almost instantly. On landing back to the ground, I raised my head to look straight up, but to my surprise, I was met with a ghastly figure that towered over me while staring deep into my eyes with its red ones. As if time had slowed down, I felt a strange pressure that made me not take my gaze from the monster, as it resembles that of a high-level hamji, with two big horns, a bulky appearance, and it seemed to be wearing a gladiator-like outfit, which made his monstrous appearance even more sinister and alarming.

"YOU'RE AWAKE, FINALLY." I heard someone from my back as I tried to turn my head towards the source of the voice, but as if the beast in front of me anticipated it, it drove its fist right into my side, sending me flying into the faraway pillar of the entrance as my bones rattled from the impact of the attack.

"d-damn it" I cried out through my teeth as I was overwhelmed by the sudden pain that overfilled my body. But even as I was trying to cope with the pain, I felt a sudden presence coming from my side, as it was both familiar and foreign to me. But the real matter with the presence was the void feeling its mana presence had. 'what kind of mana presence is this?'

"DON'T EVEN TRY AND COMPARE MY PRESENCE WITH THAT OF 'HIM', I TAKE GREAT OFFENSE TO THAT CHILD." I finally turned my head towards the entity, as I was faced with a strange being having a humanoid form while also adorned in a black suit that gave out this chill through my spine as if staring at an endless void. But what truly made the being even more ominous was the strange bone golden mask that covered half its face from the nose upward, with the mask taking on the appearance of a plague doctor's mask. But what truly made the entity's presence even more terrifying was the sickening grin that graced its features along with its strange misty black skin-like appearance. "SO, WATCH YOUR TONGUE."

"W-what are you?" trying to get up to my feet, I questioned the presence, as it just laughed at my question. While trying to keep my eyes on the still-moving Hamji Gladiator that kept on walking towards me,. 

"WELL, DON'T YOU LIKE ASKING A LOT OF QUESTIONS NOW? IT DOESN'T MATTER, CHILD; IN YOUR CASE, ALL THESE QUESTIONS WON'T DO YOU ANY GOOD." the mysterious entity spoke with a voice that seemed to overshadow the immaculate amount of darkness around us, but the monster managed to blitz to my front, ready to deliver a disastrous punch to my gut… but with a sudden evasion, managed to escape the attack and began to run further into the cave to try and escape the monster.

"Just answer me already? What are you, where is this place, and where are my friends?!" I roared out while trying to escape the monster's onslaught of blade attacks that seemed to be also hitting the ceiling above me to try and block my way and keep me closer to it.

"SO DEMANDING I SEE, WELL THEN… I'LL ANSWER…" The entity explained why she was walking towards me with a level of dominance and grace. But the more disturbing thing about it was the chilling, never-ending grin that graced his face. "WHO AM I? FOR STARTERS EVEN IF I TOLD YOU WHO I TRULY I'M… IT WON'T MATTER, BUT SINCE YOU INSIST, I AM THE BEING WITHOUT BOUNDS. THE ABYSS THAT HOLDS NO END CHILD, I AM THE FATE OF ALL EXISTENCE, I CAN'T BE CONFINED... BUT CURRENTLY THAT'S NOT THE CASE: I AM THE VOID, THE ETERNAL ABYSS, THE BEING OF NIHILITY. 

 

I AM THE END."

The moment it finished off with that, a sudden silence plagued the environment as even the monster that kept on attacking me got on its knees due to the non-existent pressure that plagued the terrain from the entity's proclamation.

"BUT OF COURSE YOU CAN CALL ME... AZUL" like a train, that name had hit me with such a sudden nostalgia as my mind tried to recall where I heard of that name... and it seems I finally remembered who it was… the plague of my very existence, the monster that made me a monster, the cause of it all. With a change of facial expression, I tried to charge at it regardless of the monster that was at my back. "NICE TO FINALLY MEET YOU, DANTE."

"y-you monster! You did all of this; you started it all. I roared out in rage as I charged at it with full speed, trying to get my hands on it.

Slash!

I couldn't register what had just happened, as before I knew it... Everything just became black as my body was split in two by the monster that was behind me, a blade that swung vertically over me.

.

.

.

..

"ARISE CHILD."

I felt my body being pulled together as if time had just reversed to heal me, but of course I was stunned by this and got on my knees in front of Azul, who was now in front of me, staring down at me with a sinister grin. "What have you done to me?"

"ONE QUESTION AT A TIME, THIS PLACE YOU'RE IN IS THE PLACE BEYOND THE CONFINES OF... A REALM OUTSIDE THE REACH OF 'HIS' INFLUENCE, THIS IS MY DOMAIN THAT HAS NO BEGINNING OR END, THIS IS LIMBO." The entity answered with pride before finally turning towards me with his grin, now having an even more malicious intent to it. "IN THIS REALM, I CONTROL ALL AND YOU HAVE NOW BEEN SUBJECTED TO MY RULE. SO FORGET ABOUT DYING CHILD."

I went on my knees at the sudden realization of the entity's words, with a broken and shocked expression on my face.

'i-it can't be true... but how am I here?' I questioned myself internally, still in my shocked state, with my eyes flung open in a bloodshot manner as I began to grasp my head slowly in an insane manner.

"I KNOW THAT YOU'RE CONFUSED AT WHY YOU'RE HERE AND TO BE HONEST, THIS WON'T HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE IF NOT FOR THAT SAINT... THOUGH YOU KNOW HIM AS ALFRED, THE DECEASED MONARCH." The entity spoke Father Alfred's name as I immediately rose my head up to stare at the being with a frown on my face.

"What do you mean about Father Alfred, with him being part of this?" I asked with a tone full of regret and pain as guilt filled my heart. But the entity gave a sudden laugh that made me even more confused and frustrated by this as I charged up and tried to get closer to the entity's face with eyes of rage. "Just answer me already!"

"ALRIGHT THEN CHILD, IF YOU MUST KNOW, THEN KNOW THAT WITHOUT HIM YOU WOULD HAVE FALLEN INTO THE INFLUENCE OF THE AUTHORITY PROCESSED BY THAT EXECUTIONER... AND THAT WAS THE AUTHORITY OF NON-EXISTENCE ERASURE. SO ASSUMING THE SAINT DIDN'T PERFORM THE SPELL BEFORE YOU PERISHED AT THE HANDS OF THE EXECUTIONER… YOU WON'T HAVE LIVED ON... AND MY ADVENT OF REVENGE WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN MADE POSSIBLE, THE SPELL WAS A VERY POWERFUL REINCARNATION SPELL... AND THANKFULLY, I MANAGED TO INTERCEPT YOUR REINCARNATION AND BRING YOU HERE." I began to shrink down on one knee after hearing what the entity said about father alfred's sacrifice, I basically left myself open to the incoming attack from the demon that was up my back, and as if I could feel the monster's right arm raise up to deliver an attack to put me down again in on swipe, "THOUGH THE SAME CONDITION CAN'T BE SAID FOR YOUR FRIENDS CHILD..."

And with that, I felt a sudden pang from my heart while staring straight into the entity's red eyes. My body began to shake as I tried my best to hold myself from totally breaking down right now, as I finally managed to ask the question that I tried to hold myself from finding out. "What happened to them?"

The punch from the monster was about to land on my face, until the entity finally gave me my answer, with my heart beat now echoing throughout my body as I anticipated it.

Duh duh

.

.

Duh duh

.

.

Duh duh

.

.

As the entity's smile increased with intensity and the malicious intent behind it now fully visible… it said. "THEY. DON'T. EXIST. ANYMORE. CHILD… THEIR SOULS ARE GONE…"

The fist of the monster collided with me head… but the moment it made contact, the whole body of the monster instantly turn to dust as I remained on my knees while the entity's words continued to rely on my head.