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As the training grounds were crowded with students, Nathan stood in front of the class, anticipating listening intently to Vad's teachings. The bullies before were still anger, managing their rage in silence, but for the moment, they focused to the teacher's lessons- although their eyes would stray sometimes toward Nathan, silently promising their revenge.
"Attention, class. Good morning," Vad announced, raising a slight wave toward the crowded students.
"Good morning," the students grumbled back, their voices are scattered and weak, with a little concentration.
Vad sighed, the weight of responsibility across his face. "Good morning, students!" His voice went up, not angry, but strong enough to gain attention.
The students stood up straight, some shocked, some shy, and others finally offering their attention.
"Good morning, Sir Vad!" the class replied in a loud, respectful voice this time.
Vad nodded in contentment.
"Good enough. That is how you demonstrate responsibility and discipline to others. Without those two, none of you will ever become good warriors."
The students were quiet now, the morning wind whispering through the grass and the leaves of the tall oaks surrounding them. Nathan felt the steady thump of his own heartbeat as he stood among them, feeling the remain tension that still evident in the crowd.
"Today's lesson is easy," Vad went on, moving slowly in front of them. "To learn to handle your weapons, you must first learn to stand your ground, master your breath, and stand with respect. You don't gain power from being careless, but from learning and understanding."
A handful of students glanced at one another, and a few nodded. Nathan continued looking ahead.
"Now...pair up," Vad commanded. "Each of you will do basic stances and defensive strategies. No striking yet. If I see anyone lift a weapon to hurt someone, you'll be sent home for the day and feel ashame."
The students nodded and started to move, pairing up. Nathan stood alone for a brief moment before one of the younger boys nervously edged closer.
But before they could start, the tall bully from before - Kellen - sneered and shouted out.
"Hey, royal kid, want a partner?"
Nathan looked at him but didn't say a word. He could feel it - a tiny hum in the air around Kellen's clenched-up his fist. A flash of heat. Kellen was summoning magic, a wild, immature stuff barely contained.
Nathan's mind spoke quietly to itself. "He's doing it again..."
In time with the others, no one else realized, Vad's voice interrupted.
"Kellen! Hold on!" the teacher snapped without looking around. "No magic while we practice the foundation. You'll burn your own hand before you learn to hold a proper stance."
The shame on Kellen's face spread as the weak warmth around his hand dissipated. He cursed under his breath and stepped aside.
Nathan exhaled a slow, even breath.
"Focus, Nathan. It's only the beginning."
Vad held his staff up.
"Begin!"
And at that very instant, something strange occurred again.
A gentle blue light flashed from the medallion under Nathan's tunic - a swift, quiet beat of light. It traveled through him like a cool wave, making his chest lighter, his arms firm. His eyes spark for an instant before the blue light disappeared as though it had never existed.
Nathan didn't notice it.
But within his head, something was clearer. His mind was composed, his nerves level, and his body seemed to know what to do without him even thinking too much.
The field erupted with motion. Wooden blades rang with sharp, rhythmic thuds as students initiated their drills. Some fumbled, some kept looking over at Vad, hoping he would OK them.
Nathan held his sword tightly, standing firmly. The younger boy next to him, his practice partner, appeared anxious.
"Relax your shoulders," Nathan instructed gently, readjusting the boy's hands. "Keep your weight on the front of your feet, like this."
The boy imitated him with a swift nod.
As the drills continued, Kellen and his two friends continued to sneak peeks at Nathan. Their usual smirks were back, but they remained silent under Vad's watchful eyes. Instead, they inched their way closer to Nathan's group during the exercises.
Then it occurred - Daren, a friend of Kellen's, swung his practice sword too broad intentionally, clipping dangerously close to Nathan's head.
Nathan responded in an instant.
He moved away quickly, twisted his wrist, and used the blade side of his sword to smooth Daren's arm away. It wasn't a blow hit, just a smooth, clean correction.
A couple of students standing nearby paused to observe.
Daren forward, his face flushing.
"Watch your blade," Nathan told him quietly. No rage. No ridicule. Just firm, clear words.
Even Kellen scowled. Something in Nathan's serenity felt uncomfortable... and wrong.
A little afterward, Kellen teamed up with another student beside Nathan's group. But from pride, he swung too hard and too fast - with a blow that would have landed on Nathan's side if he hadn't been prepared.
Nathan reacted without delay.
He turned to the blow, raised his practice sword, and deflected it with a ringing crack. For an instant, both swords were locked in place, and Nathan's blade did not shift.
Kellen's eyes opened wide, caught off guard by the power of Nathan's block.
"Control, Kellen!" Vad's voice rang out firmly.
Kellen backed up hastily, his face scowling and shocked, but still, he needs his revenge.
Vad looked over, his face was silent but his eyes hard.
"Good response, Nathan," Vad spoke. His voice was even, though his look at Kellen said more. "And you - control your strikes. This isn't a brawl fight."
The other students began to whisper among themselves. They also exhibited a new type of respect in their eyes as they gazed at Nathan, who just stepped back into his position as though nothing had occurred.
Within Nathan's mind, a soft voice arose, as if his own voice were speaking to him in return.
"That's enough for now. Don't show off. Just let them see it."
And for the very first time that morning, a small smile pulled at the edge of his mouth.
The drills continued.
And gradually, as minutes passed away, blades met and cries echoed across the training field, the odd clarity in Nathan's mind faded away - slinking away silently, leaving him where he was previously. No one was aware. Not even Nathan.
Nathan blinked, feeling as if something had slipped away from him quietly.
"Huh... what was that? What just happened?" he told himself and become a little confused.
But there was no reply. And in the end, he just forgot it.
"Never mind...."
He lifted his sword once more.
Only the medallion beneath his tunic stayed quiet and motionless.
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Realms of the dead (part of the underworld)
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The scene of the story shifted away from the training grounds and homelands - into the hell underworld, the Land of the Dead.
A land where the fallen, ancient warriors and forgotten spirits are made again as undead to become the corrupted legions of the abyss. It is a land of eternal decay, where the air is heavy with the stench of rotten flesh and rusted swords buried under the mounds of older bones.
(This location was not far away from the depths of the underworld or the core of hell. It is located in the Northeast and its left side is home to the Pit of shadows. Also the abyss land is located in the West part.)
The earth was cracked and empty, dark-stained by centuries of blood. Rotting corpses and old warriors, worn-out skeleton warriors moved eternally, their empty eyes glowing dimly in the darkness. Heavy and unnatural quiet covered the land, but broken by the distant, echoing cries of damned souls.
In the center of this dead land ran the River of Death - a black, slow-moving stream that glowed under a crimson sky. It was rumored that anyone who swam across its dark waters would be permanently altered and their souls will be taken by the void.
At the mountains of the two peaks of this monarchy stood the two ancient thrones - Nyxoria and Mortis. One was the Judgement of Fate which is the Nyxoria, the other one is the Judgement of Time, the Mortis. Souls presented before them would have their time and fate determined. Nyxoria balanced a soul's past and decisions, whereas Mortis decided how long their punishment or peace would endure in the underworld.
And behind these thrones, a presence emerged.
Lilith.
(This character was introduced in chapter 2, right?)
The half-demon and half-hearted, neither living nor dead. Her dark and white hair floated like smoke, and her crimson eyes shone dimly in the blackness. A rent cloak fell across her shoulders, concealing the odd, old scars sealed into her flesh.
She walked among the restless dead fearlessly. The rotting soldiers parted before her, some lowering their heads in a broken, twisted sort of respect. Lilith was no ruler here, but she was something the dead recalled - such as a soul cursed to be trapped between worlds.
Standing in front of the thrones, Lilith gazed up at the vacant seats.
"So... no one watches today, eh?" she breathed softly, her lips curled up in a bitter smile. "Good. I have work to do in the world above afterwards."
The earth under her feet shook as the river of death changed its direction, and off in the distance, a bell rang - a signal that a new soul had entered the underworld.
Lilith's eyes grew hard.
"Another one, huh?" she whispered. "Let's see if this one makes a difference."
And with that, she turned and continued on, her form disappearing into the fog.
Walking through the dead landscape, Lilith murmured to herself. Her half-hearted mind flickered between regret and defiance, torn in two.
"I shouldn't have done it... I was told to find cruel and heartless person. Young one or an old one - but I didn't care. Hades was right. He told me to give the medallion to someone twisted or bad. Someone who'd spread the darkness to the world above when the time was right."
She sighed a long sigh.
"But I didn't. I already gave it to that kid."
Lilith's eyes gazed into the distance, recalling the pale light that emitted from Nathan's body when she presented him with the peculiar medallion.
"That thing I gave, wasn't normal power. It wasn't evil. But it was something else. Something ancient... something from the myths. I think I combined it with one of the three Arcane synergies? - either Aura, Essence, or Nexus. I don't remember." She glances around before continuing.
"Sigh, why is it that I can never remember when I stored something special and gave it to someone."
She brushed a hand through her hair, feeling heavy emotion in her heart.
"And now what? Hades will discover. He always does. Not like I've ever been skilled at taking orders," she grumbled with a small smile.
She walked past crumbling statues and broken ruins. The dead soldiers around her didn't move, only watched with empty eyes.
"Maybe there's a reason why it chose him. Maybe that legendary bloodline still exists?... hidden away in that quiet village."
Lilith chuckled under her breath, though there was no joy in it.
"I'll need to come up with something good reason when Hades asks," she said. "Not that he cares for excuses."
Her crimson eyes gazed across the wasteland a final time before she vanished into the mist once again.
The Land of the Dead was quiet, lifeless, and waiting what was to come.
Lilith continued to walk further into the underworld's endless shadows or the underworld's core, the decayed ground shattering beneath her footsteps. The atmosphere surrounding her was lifeless, heavy with the stench of rot. She spoke to herself once more, her voice resolute and hard.
"I'll need to lie... or maybe I'll just disappear for a while," she muttered, thinking about how Hades would react if he know she gave the medallion to Nathan. "That man doesn't forgive mistakes, especially me."
As she moved between piles of bones and broken weapons, two tall figures appeared from the shadows ahead.
Their bodies were nothing but bone, clad in cracked, ancient armor, with long rusted spears in hand. Red, faint light burned in their hollow eye sockets.
Demon skeleton guards.
Soldiers of the underworld's core - sent only by Hades himself.
Lilith stopped, exhaling softly.
"Tch... what now?" she grumbled.
One of the guards moved forward, its voice a rough and dry.
"Miss Lilith."
She folded her arms, raising a brow. "Yeah, what do you want?"
The second guard replied, its tone equally hollow.
"The Lord of the Underworld calls you. He has a message."
Lilith's gaze narrowed.
A chill slid down her back, but she remained nonchalant.
"Of course he does," she replied softly, struggling to make a smirk. "I guess he noticed it after all."
The first guard leaned its head to one side, as though in expectation.
"Okay, fine, lead the way, I'll follow." Lilith said, gesturing with a hand. "Let's go find out what your master wants."
The two demon skeletons turned, the bony heels of their feet scraping against the dead earth, and started to guide her towards the darker, more shadowy regions of the underworld - a region even most cursed souls are afraid to enter.
Lilith followed behind, her half-hearted mind flickered between fear and rebellion, already attempting to guess what kind of punishment or warning awaited her.
The mist grew denser around them as they moved, and the screams of the cursed grew distant into an uncomfortable silence.
The underworld was never silent for nothing.
As they continued further, the warped landscape surrounding them transformed. The bones on the ground became black, and ghostly, ethereal forms and statues drifted through the heavy fog. The atmosphere was denser here, weighing upon Lilith's skin like a chill hand.
She look around as she followed the guards, continuing to murmur to herself.
"Should have known better than to accept that job," she grumbled. "Was just meant to pass it to some powered brat or a crazy-grabbing fool... not some kid like him."
Lilith's gaze dropped for an instant, recalling Nathan's face when she'd handed him the medallion.
"And yet... something about that boy. There's no way Hades knew he was one of them."
Her fingers brushed against the faint scars on her wrist - marks left by old and cursed bindings.
"I swear, if this Arcane legend nonsense turns real because of me... I'm dead twice over."
A faint, humorless laugh escaped her lips, echoing in the cold mist.
The skeleton demons did not speak as they took her across a broken-down stone bridge drawn over the River of Death. The black waters flowed slowly under them, their currents carrying splintered swords and white, dead bodies in drag.
In ahead, a broken-down, giant gate appeared on the horizon - constructed of lava and rusting chains, padlocked by night-dark ancient glowing softly.
The first guard moved around.
"Wait here."
It disappeared into the fog past the gate while the second one waited guard by her side.
Lilith crossed her arms, exhaling a slow breath.
"Great. Now there comes the scolding."
She gazed up at the blood-red sky overhead, its color reflected in her crimson eyes.
"Just give me a chance to explain, Hades... or at least allow me to run before you decide to tear me apart."
The oppressive silence lingered on.
Far in the background, there was a ringing of a bell once again.
And within that accursed place, Lilith waited - not knowing if her next move would be retribution, forgiveness... or worse.
The creaking heavy gate clattered open slowly, rusted chains clinking as a thick fog rised out through the opening beyond. The first skeleton guard reappeared, its empty eyes dimly shining.
"Hades will see you now," it croaked.
Lilith's brow furrowed, sighing.
"Well... no turning back now."
She followed the guard through the corridor, the walls constructed of snarled, fossilized bones piled higher than any sharp. There were faint whispers in the air - voices of the very dead, muttering things no living mind could understand.
Lilith maintained her pride, although her heart, what little there was of it, twisted uncomfortably in her chest.
She muttered to herself, again in a silent tone, as they proceeded.
"Why'd I even bother...? I could've gave that medallion to some rotten warlord or one of those brutal people, power-mad nobles. Again, but no, I gave it to a kid with clear eyes and a forgotten bloodline. What was I thinking...?"
She said nothing, but followed only deeper until the corridor opened into a huge, dark-filled room.
Seated in the midst was a statuesque figure upon a throne made of dark rock, its figure wrapped in enraged lava and ragged vestments of night. A crown of fire nebulas wore upon his head, and blue fire burned cold within his eyes.
Hades.
The ruler of the underworld inclined forward from his seat a fraction as Lilith approached, his voice rousing through the hall like a rumbling thunder.
"Lilith."
She bent her head, a corner of one mouth twitching up into a half-smile.
"My lord?"
The temperature dropped.
"I know you've failed your mission."
Lilith stood firm, even if the shadows did seem to close in on her.
"I didn't fail," she replied levelly. "I gave it to someone. Just... not the kind you wanted."
Hades' eyes narrowed, his burning gaze appearing to carry straight through her.
"A hopeless boy with a forgotten blooline... Do you have any idea what you've done?"
Lilith swallowed hard, voice gentle but firm.
"I don't know what he is yet... but something forced me he's supposed to carry it. If I was mistaken... punish me."
There was a heavy, drawn-out silence. Even the whispers within the walls disappeared because of the sudden silence.
Hades finally reclined upon his throne.
"You might have altered the course of fate, Lilith... for better or worse. The balance is a delicate thing. If this Aura awakens, the core of the underworld itself might sense its pull."
Lilith exhaled a breath, tension easing from shoulders.
Lilith clenched her fists, her crimson eyes refusing to look away. She knew she had made a mistake - a dangerous one.
Hades' gaze turned cold. "That boy... Nathan. And the medallion you gave him - it was meant for a soul already filled with evil and cruel, right? Someone I could shape. But you..." his voice fell lower, colder, "you gave it to a bloodline of legend. A heart that fate had kept hidden for a reason."
A dull rumble ran through the chamber, the River of Death groaning far away in the distance.
Hades gradually rose from his throne. "If that Aura is awaken... it will not end there." His tone grew heavy with a menacing threat.
"It's one of the three old synergies, Lilith. Aura, Essence, and Nexus."
Lilith's head looked up, terror lit up in her crimson eyes.
Hades' expression turned sorrowful. "Each was destined to remain lost to time. Alone and separated. If one is awakened, the other two may follow as well. And when all three are reborn into the world, the very heart of the underworld - the heart or core of this pit - will tremble and destroyed. It will shatter. And all of this realm, from the River of Death to the Judgment Thrones and all, will be torn apart."
The weight of those words pressed the air down. Even the dead shadows seemed to shrink away.
Lilith swallowed hard, her voice shaking. "I... I didn't mean to... I didn't know he carry such bloodline."
Hades descended from his throne, stopping before her. His voice became deathly still.
"The punishment I applied you last time," Hades declared, his voice ice-cold, "was only a dark cage. The cell of an abyssal prisoner. I refused you out of mercy, seeing your half-hearted soul because of your broken past... the family I myself threw to death."
The mention of her dead family - those words - did something to Lilith.
A wave of unwanted memories flickered her.
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A child's laughter. Filling across fields of sunlight. a gentle hand holding hers. his voice calling out her name.
"Lilith! Wait for me!"
Her little brother named - Asriel.
(She already mentioned it in the chapter 2)
She recalled the instant the skies darkened. Fire falling from above. The shadows and abyss consuming all in their kingdom.
Another of memories hit Lilith's mind - ones she had attempted to keep buried so long ago.
Her home. The battlefield echoed with clashing swords. Cries for recovery and freedom. The sky above is turning red as darkness releases forth from the depths.
She remembered her father - sword raised, fighting with their royal men. His face smeared with blood and dust, yet his soul burning and unrelenting.
"Take them and go!" he cried.
But too late. Their soldiers fell, one by one. Her father, strong though he was, was overpowered by the darkness - devoured by it in a whirlwind of black mist, his shape disappearing into nothingness.
Her mother stood fast, holding both Lilith and little Asriel close against her body. Tears in her eyes, but her hands did not shake.
"Stay behind me," she had whispered, keeping them hidden and safe from the abyss twisting across the shattered streets.
Lilith could still hear her mother's prayer - and the final glance in her eyes when the darkness attacked. A shard of shadows tore through her chest, and she collapsed to the ground.
Lilith had screamed, holding onto Asriel.
But the real terror followed.
The abyss didn't devour Asriel like the others.
Instead, something worse occurred. The shadows grasped for him - and his little body stiffened. His eyes went wide as if beholding something far beyond the world. Then the light in his eyes went out, not like death, but like a candle extinguished from within.
His soul was taken. Torn away, leaving him an empty, lifeless human. Not dead. Not alive. A hollow vessel, beyond the power of gods and healers.
Lilith had wept, helplessly, holding her brother's lifeless form while the world around her was aflame.
And her scream... she never forgot it.
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Now, in front of Hades, those memories cut deeper than any judgement.
And then. nothing.
Lilith's breath caught, a piercing ache behind her eyes, but she willed herself to be motionless.
Hades' voice cut through, bringing her back to reality.
"But this time," he told her, his tone cold as ice, "this will be greater than endless. If you've destroyed us all... I will tear apart your soul, tear it to shreds. You'll be threw into the endless Abyss, forgotten by both life and death. No face, no voice, and no memory. You will roam as nothing for all eternity. A curse greater than pain itself."
Lilith's breath was shaking, her voice little more than a whisper.
"I... understand... Then I suppose, we'll both be keeping an eye on him now, won't we?"
For an instant, a weird flash of something - was it amusement? - passed over Hades' cold face.
"Very well. You will be my eyes in the world above. Watch the boy. When the time is right... you will know what to do."
Lilith nodded shortly, crooked smile.
A long silence followed. Then Hades turned away.
"Now go. Return to the surface," he ordered, his voice sharp and final. "And pray to whatever gods remain that his power stays buried. Or you'll learn what it truly means to suffer."
Lilith was concerned "Wasn't going to leave him alone anyway?"
And with a flick of Hades' wrist, the shadows closed around her, the underworld disappearing from view.
The demon guards stepped aside.
Lilith clenched her fists, the burden of her decision and ancient memories seeping into her soul. She turned and went, her shadow vanishing into the infinite dark. Behind her, the center of the underworld burned weakly - a slow, warning pulse.
As she went, Lilith talked softly to herself.
"Nathan..." she whispered to herself. "What have I done...?"
"Nathan... I gave you something I wasn't supposed to. And if those other powers are awakened... I could have destroyed everything."
And again, the land of the dead was left behind, silent and waiting.
But now... a storm was brewing quietly.
Lilith stroked the back of her neck, talking to herself.
"Well... I suppose I have no choice now."
She walked, crackling her boots on dry bones that lay across the ground. The agitated dead directed their blank gazes towards her as she walked, but none moved towards her.
With every step deeper into the dead earth, her apathetic mind wandered again.
"Nathan, huh? What makes you so different...? That Aura wasn't supposed to wake up - not now, not in him."
Lilith looked up at the blood-red sky, her crimson eyes narrowing.
"Again, I was supposed to give that medallion to a monster... someone worse than me. Spread a little darkness, cause some chaos and simple. But you... you weren't supposed to matter. And yet..."
She exhaled sharply, a bitter laugh twisting her lips.
"Fate always has its own way, doesn't it?"
A far-off, silent hum filled the air. The River of Death glimmered in the distance, and the wind carry the faint wails of lost spirits.
Lilith stood still, gazing around the hell landscape. She knew it well. Every broken road, every restless ghost, every cursed whisper. And yet, tonight it was different.
She didn't know why... but a steady pull in her chest indicated things were already altering.
"Guess I'd better stay close to that kid," she whispered to herself quietly. "If you burn the world down... I'll be right behind you."
And with that, she disappeared into the dark fog once again, with nothing left but the chill air and the broken bones behind.
The underworld waited as it had always waited - in silence, cursed, and waiting.
But in the world above, a faint light awakened in the heart of a boy named Nathan... and an ancient power long forgotten started to wake.