“Fuck…” Davis groaned as he slowly regained consciousness. Every part of his body was sore as hell, with even opening his eyelids being a chore.

“Davis?”

“John?” He managed to spit out.

“Your awake!” A familiar face quickly entered his line of sight. His once rugged face showed signs of hunger and fatigue, with dark half-circles under his eyes giving it away.

“Where are we?” Davis frowned. He only remembered some bits before his reward from the promotion quest was forced onto him. Looking around, the familiar dark room stared back at him, with runic letters carved over every square inch of the mysterious material.

Ghostly white flames burned in mid-air, hovering just above their dead lamps. Gloom and dark shadows were everywhere he looked, barely shrouding the passageway outside of the room.

“I have no idea…” Jonathan frowned, quickly glancing at the sole exit out of this room, an inconspicuous-looking doorway, devoid of a door, before continuing in a hushed voice. “It’s dangerous to leave this room, something dangerous is hiding within the halls.”

“...How dangerous?” If it was just a Black/White ranked monster, he could take care of it. Maybe even a Lord ranked now that he was a Silver core. And if he changed his Curse… he was sure that the scrolls would reward him with some powerful skills.

Jonathan gazed into his eyes. “The Emperor we were running away from is nothing compared to this…” He waved and gestured his hand towards the gloomy hallway, where a seemingly unending procession of flames disappeared into the gloom. “...thing.”

“To hells…” Cursing, he picked himself up. “No other way?”

Jonathan nodded. “No other way but forward.”

“...Fuck it, let's hope it doesn't notice us.” The two men came to a mutual understanding. If they stayed here, they would only die from starvation. There was simply no food, and even if they somehow, somehow, returned back, all that awaited them was an Emperor. However unlikely that they survive out there, it was better than the guaranteed, painful death in this room.

“Wait.” Davis first had to check in with the Scrolls. At the very least, even though it might not matter much in a fight, he wanted to get a new Curse.

‘Scrolls, show me my Curses.’

Without hesitation, Davis immediately chose the [Moonlit Blade] and [Bloodied Blade]. Besides, those were the only 2 Curses he could combine, as both were pertaining to Masamune.

A barrage of blue scrolls unfurled in front of him, each informing him of something important, nearly overwhelming him. His eyes stopped at the mention of the creation of a New Curse before a jubilant smile appeared on his face.

‘Yes! At least I achieved something notable…’ He dismissed the Scroll and continued reading the next one. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Johnathan observing the dark hallways, presumably on the lookout for whatever horrible monstrosity lay in wait.

His smile did not last long, however, as the next Scroll filled him with dread.

He was destined to die. That was the worst possible ‘price’ a Curse could have, for if Lady Fate herself destined for you to die, you will die. No one has changed their fate when she has ordained it.

Furthermore… ‘dying underneath a blood moon…’ It has only been a week since he had entered the Devil’s valley, with the night of the attack being on a new moon. He had no idea when a blood moon would occur, though he was sure only Full moon days would have a chance to become a blood moon.

Which meant that he had 28 days left to get the hell out of the Devil’s valley. Deep down, although he knew that he knew he couldn’t change his fate, he believed that he was different. That he could challenge the pre-ordained events of his life.

That if only he escaped the Devil’s valley before the Blood moon, he won’t die underneath a horde of monsters.

And the bit where his most trusted companion pierced his heart...?

“Davis? Are you ready?” Jonathan interrupted his thoughts, his sunken eyes looking at him uncomfortably. 

'There's no way Jonathan would do something like that, right?'

He sighed. No use thinking about it now. If fate destined that he would die on a blood moon, then there was no way he would die in this place. Unless it was a blood moon outside.

“Let’s go.” Inching their way into the grand halls, shadows danced as they disturbed an area untouched for seeming eons. Dust accumulated on the floors of the hall stuck to their feet like lint, creating a trail of footprints leading to them.

Uncountable amounts of runes were etched into every part of the halls, from the pillars to the floors, not unlike the room they were in. Davis swallowed a bit of his saliva, not daring to make a sound.

The two walked in silence for a while, with time losing its meaning. With each step, the darkness seemed to encroach closer towards them, only stopped by the ethereal white flames. He had a feeling that if he were to step outside the white flame’s light, the darkness would devour him faster than he could think.

Time slowly lost its meaning, as the repetitive nature of his surroundings made his head hurt. It felt like they had been walking for hours. Days even. Davis glanced to his right, seeing how Jonathan was completely silent.

He opened his mouth to talk, but Jonathan placed a finger to his lip.

‘Quiet.’ He seemed to say. Davis simply nodded. He did not want to risk the chance of triggering whatever thing that hid in the pitch-black void, the risk however small.

Soon, the surroundings changed, as the black material used for the building switched to fiery red metals, golden white platings, and swirling blue cloth. Little stars hung on invisible strings danced around in the air, with Davis careful not to touch the low-hanging ones.

They were uncomfortably sharp.

After traversing the minefield of stars, the pair finally reached the end, where a grand door stood, firmly locked and undisturbed. It was encircled by 10 flames in golden, Braziers. The light of the flames pushed away the boundary of darkness, lighting up hundreds of meters. The floor which they sat on had a painting of a gold chain stretching from the Brazier to the giant door.

A beautiful scene was depicted on the doors, a massive red flame blazed in the middle, tied down by 10 golden chains in a nearly photo-realistic backdrop of the Devil’s Valley mountains. A silvery moon and crimson sun hung over the flame, though Davis didn’t know what their connection to it was.

“What…” Davis murmured. He had an inkling that, maybe, whatever was behind those doors was meant to be chained, never released into the world. He glanced at Jonathan.

He shrugged. “Only way forward.” Jonathan went up to the door and carefully touched it with his fingertips. Seeing how it didn’t react, he applied force, eventually pushing against the door with all his might.

The door stood unmoving, as still as before. “Huh. Davis, try it?”

“Did the Scrolls send you a message?”

“Yeah…” He frowned and stepped backward. “Something about only those who bear the markings of the ancients may pass.”

“Let me try.” Davis stepped forward and touched the massive door. A cold sensation rushed up his fingertips, as a blue Scroll unfurled in his sight.

With a groan, the massive doors began swinging outwards, inch by inch. All 10 of the flames were snuffed in an instant, the only light spilling out from the crack in the doors.

“RUN!” A deep, wretched roar came from the darkness. Something powerful was stirring, and he did not want to find out what it was.

The moment the crack in the door became just wide enough to slip past, both he and Jonathan rushed through it. Just as they got through, the doors slammed shut as a powerful force slammed into them. A miserable roar came from behind the doors, saddened that it could not catch its prey in time.

Cold sweat running down his back, Davis sighed. They were safe, at least for now. Before he could even process his surroundings, a never before seen black scroll unfurled itself in front of him.

Shyberu

And on that happy note!

Davis's destined fate, the grand hall of Night, and the Chained Titan! If only editing this didn't take me an hour to do, there would be a lot more chapters coming out. Remember to tell me if I missed anything! I am only human, so I make mistakes too.

But remember that Masamune is changing extremely early on now, so expect a POV of her soon. Or whenever Davis decides to invest his Aether into her. 

Anyways! For those who can't open the footnotes for the skills, below:
1.Bathe in the silvery glow of moonlight, empowering your every strike. All abilities cast under the light of the moon shall be empowered by [Lunar Glow], and shift depending on which phase the moon is on. Must be wielding Masamune to utilize [Lunar Glow].

2.When under the New moon, Masamune will be imbued with [False Light], having a nullifying effect that converts spells and magic into Aether.

3.Under a blood moon, an insatiable desire to slaughter fills every fiber of your being. All abilities will be imbued with blood enchantments and their strength will scale with how strong Masamune is. Each kill done under a blood moon will permanently strengthen both of you a minuscule amount, stacking infinitely as long as you are wielding Masamune.

4.Blood fuels your blade. With each kill, Masamune's powers grow just a little bit stronger, stacking upon themselves infinitely. However, each kill shall also fuel your desire to slaughter, and slowly erase your sanity and humanity. All your abilities shall be returned to Masamune should you die.

5.Unleash a condensed blade of blood, imbuing it with the same enchantments and sharpness as Masamune herself. Mana may be used in place of blood, though it will not contain Masamune's enchantments.