Since Zylus was born, he was told by others he's a demon, a demon to his family, not treasuring how much they help him while he does nothing. The type of people who would tell you as a little kid to avoid nightfall, as it brings about the wrath of the demons. Zylus was regarded in that way; no parents ever let their children play with him. Viewed as the evil within the human realm, utter fear matched with hatred started to erupt. To lose everything just as pride began to rise, the will and hope to continue with this life, that is the embodiment of Zylus's life.
This tragic shit show of a life, can something good happen at least once without consequence?
The rage and agony Zylus felt while stabbing the wretched soul who had done the unthinkable to his family made him pass out. Now, he was suspended in a black, endless void. The only image that surfaced in his mind was his father's severed head rolling toward him on a snowy night.
THESE FUCKING BASTARDS. He swore he would kill them, and that revenge is blinding him endlessly, in a pit of darkness. He didn't care about their status. The world needed to know what they had done.
As the endless pit of darkness continued to engulf the knocked-out Zylus, Medrus' voice became clear.
"Wake up, kid." A calm tone, exactly how Medrus' voice sounded.
Zylus' sudden falling unconscious made him clear his mind slightly, but pure rage continued to seep through him. Rage that won't disperse until the goal of where that anger lies is reached.
Is that the same man who helped me earlier?
As Zylus began creaking his eyes, his back felt cold, like it was leaning against blackstone made with ice.
Whe-...
Zylus paused in thought, staring upwards, picking himself up from the ground.
Dark stone was scattered all across from him. A ceiling of no sky, but pure ash and shadow. The scent of ash was heavy, almost too smoky.
"Welcome, kid…"
Medrus stood on his right, both of them stood on high ground, almost to the tip of a mountain covered completely in dark stone, introducing what they had now stepped into…
"Welcome to what?" Zylus asked.
The complete and utter shock of where he lay built upon the slight calmness he had gained from waking up, slightly overshadowing that rage. But his anger was still simmering, just hadn't erupted yet.
"Welcome to the Demon Realm," Medrus answered casually, flicking a small ember off his coat. "Tell me, kid, what do you think defines a world built through power?"
Zylus paused, then rotated his head toward Medrus.
"Power? Power means you can do anything; power is what I need."
"You need?" Medrus quickly responded, glancing upward into the ashern sky, "Why do you need power?"
That's an obvious question. To fight off my enemies-
Wait, enemies. My home. My family.
Zylus's heart twisted. The human world, his home, his family, his father's rolling head, his mother's scream, his sister, her body. Everything. EVERYTHING slammed back into him like a collapsing building.
Zylus threw his hands over his face, trembling. "Why… why did this happen. Why didn't I stop it—— why couldn't I—"
He stopped to breathe, just as before, it was in the night cold, now it's in the burning sun, the ashes continuously made every breath more difficult than the last.
A sob ripped from him. Then another. Then more. He curled forward, nails digging into his scalp.
Medrus just stood there, frowningly staring.
"They killed them…" Zylus continued, "They killed all of them… I couldn't even move… I just stood there like a coward…"
Medrus let him cry.
Only after a long silence did he speak.
"Listen carefully, Zylus. What happened to your family wasn't your fault."
Zylus jerked his head up, eyes red, furious. "THEN WHOSE FAULT IS IT?!"
Medrus stared back, unfazed by Zylus's pitiful screams.
"Theirs," he said simply. "The spirits. And the ones who sent them."
Zylus froze.
He swallowed hard. "What… what do you mean 'sent'?"
Medrus stood, walking forward with slow, echoing steps.
"As you know, your family started as poor. The spirit realm and the human realm have an alliance. One so unbelievable, the dream realm just laughs when I reported it like it's a joke."
Medrus paused, as Zylus looked upwards in intrigue.
"Humans turn poor people into rich. Essentially, turning Dark Souls into pure good ones. And this is what the spirits feed on, to get stronger… your souls. The purer the soul, the stronger they become when sucked."
Zylus's pulse hammered. "So then why did they do it to me?!" His scream echoed across the ashern sky.
"That's where the 'alliance' part comes into play," He responded. "The main government in the human realm decided that poor people deserve death for what the spirits are offering in return."
Zylus's lips parted, "What could they be offering that's worth more than a life?!"
"Power." Medrus sneaked in a short response, but then continued, "Offering humanity the chance to gain power unimaginable to even process."
"What's their goal in doing all this?" Zylus calmly stumbled as he sobbed.
"That…" Medrus paused. "I still haven't figured that out as of yet."
"I'll kill them, I'll kill all of them." Zylus lowered his gaze, twitching his hands with a sneer on his face.
"Listen, Zylus," Medrus paused, then continued, "Your heightened senses, where could they come from? You're suddenly perfecting the use of my demonic weapon, how do you think that's possible?"
Zylus's fingers twitched as he shifted his attention downwards towards the black stone.
"What… am I?"
Medrus reached behind him. The black katana Zylus used earlier materialized in his hand, like the shadows obeyed him.
"You're someone who still has a choice," Medrus said. "You can lie down and die like the world expects, like the spirits hoped…"
He leaned in, his white hair flipped over him.
"Or you can rise with this, a demonic weapon."
Zylus paused… "What is this?"
Suddenly, as the katana fully shaped into his hand, he began seeing things. Or rather, something weirdly shaped just in front of him.
[System procedure 1: Introduce the recipient]
[Hello, I'm your demonic weapon!]
[Will you accept this system to make you strong?]
[The sooner you decide, the stronger you get]
It was as if notifications, surrounded by a black box, began spawning in front of him. And now there was a button that caught his attention.
[Accept or Reject?]
"System?" Zylus wondered out loud.
Medrus glanced at Zylus, "Once you are given a demonic weapon, that demonic weapon gradually makes you stronger with it, using an interactive system. Accept it."
"Why should I?!" Zylus yelled, accusingly.
"Because you're even getting access to a demon system, meaning only one thing…" Medrus paused, staring at the ashern sky, "You have demon blood that resides within you."
"That can't be true, my family is filled with humans," Zylus replied, in disagreement.
"But those heightened senses of yours and the fact you weren't killed when you held that katana show that," Medrus stated in confidence. "You are one of us. A Demon." He grinned with evilish intent.
Now I see why I was regarded as filth at a young age. If I'm truly a demon, then who in my family could've been one? I'll obliterate those spirits and the spirit realm. They must wait for that time to come.
"I accept." Zylus calmly stated.
"Don't look at me," Medrus placed his hands upwards in surrender, "Press on the button right in front of you that shows the option surrounded by a tiny black box."
As Zylus fixed his attention on his system, he moved his hand upward, twitching his fingers towards that button.
'Accept.'
To accept my origins, I need to find out more about them. And I will. Father, mother, sister… I will come back, I promise.
And then-
[Accepted!]
[Now that you have accepted, we will be giving you daily tasks]
[You may only complete them with your weapon!]
[Level 1: Exp: 0 to 100]
This feels kind of like a video game. But what's this portal in front of us? Medrus still hasn't told me.
"Now, Zylus, step into this portal," Medrus answered Zylus's thought, almost as if he used telepathy. "
Zylus simply waved his hand up and down in agreement as he began walking towards it just behind Medrus's path.
As Zylus placed his entire body inside, he disappeared into thin air with Medrus.
[Welcome to: Azerith!]