"If you want to be of much help to me..."
You'll need to become a Divine... just like me..."
She said lazily with a strange smile.
Red stood motionlessly, lost in his thoughts.
"Become divine... just like her?"
'Was that even possible?' He thought, thinking she was messing with him once again.
'Could a mere lowly mortal ever become a god...?
A divine being?'
"It is indeed possible." She answered as if reading his mind.
"The world I'm transporting you to is one filled with such opportunities."
Breathing deeply, Red finally spoke.
"That's fine by me."
He didn't want to be indebted to anyone. This was much better.
"So, that's all for now. Until we meet again." She said, waving her hands.
Red felt his body slowly fading, turning into motes of particles that floated towards the fountain.
"Wait! One last thing," Red said, staring directly at her as his body faded away.
"If it's in your power, seal my memories... until I come of age and am free to do as I wish."
"This guy..."
Shaking her head softly, she gave him one last smile. "Of course I can. What do you think of me?"
"Consider it done."
Their eyes remained locked until the strange pull finally consumed his face.
"Don't fail me, boy. Everything depends on you now. Well, goodbye for now." With a sigh, her form slowly flickered before fading away.
"Better prepare your rewards for your awakening."
...
In a desert region covered with grey sand, a tall, dark settlement stood, with walls made from the bones of humans and strange hideous monsters alike.
Within the settlement, in the eastern region. In a little tower, one close to one of the main leading gates out of the settlement.
A figure around the age of sixteen lay on an elevated platform, bounded by chains. He was surrounded by a mixed group of humans wearing masks and strange blue-skinned humanoid figures who appeared to be bickering back and forth.
"Are you sure he's the right one? We can't afford to waste these precious materials." One of the humans wearing a mask said.
"Of course he is! How many times do I have to repeat myself!" The gruff voice, which was mistakenly feminine, bounced through the damp walls.
"Alright, if you say so. Just know you're gonna pay back if he happens to be another failure.
You know how long it took my master to find these materials after all."
"Yeah, yeah. Let's proceed quickly."
Without wasting much time, they quickly began the procedure necessary for the ritual.
The materials were prepared and rubbed all over the figure's body.
The figure finally stirred awake just after they finished with the first step.
His stormy grey eyes took in the scene before him. A jagged roof, a group of half-naked humans, and strange humanoid figures surrounding him.
And most importantly, his chained limbs.
"What in the seven hells..." the figure muttered, drawing in a breath.
"How the hell did I get here?"
Just as he struggled to decipher his new surroundings, an overwhelming sharp pain suddenly ignited at the back of his head.
Ughhh.
He felt his head had been placed into a bowl of red-hot needles.
He bore through the first few seconds until he couldn't hold it any longer. His low grunts finally turned into chilling, agonising screams.
He jerked madly, but the chains held strong, keeping him in place.
His screams bounced off the walls of the dark chamber, causing the group to stop in whatever they were doing, a worried expression etched across their faces.
"What's happening to him?"
They thought in confusion.
"Well, it doesn't matter." One of the masked ladies said. "He wasn't supposed to be awake until we completed the ritual."
"It's best we get it done before things turn for the worse."
Meanwhile, the boy finally began to calm down as the pain resided.
His stormy grey eyes slowly flickered open once again. But this time around, something was different.
"So, it wasn't really a dream," the boy muttered, staring at the ceiling.
The meeting with that being was indeed real, and she had stuck to the deal they struck.
His eyes took in the room, where he lay, absorbing every bit of information he could find.
His findings weren't that encouraging.
"What kind of a messed-up world did she throw me in!" That was his thought as he struggled to free himself from the chain wrapping tightly across his body.
"Now, now, dear, just lie softly, and let us finish with what we started. It will be over before you realise."
It was the first lady from before that spoke, gently rubbing his head.
Red couldn't see her face hidden behind the oni mask, just her deep dark eyes through the slit.
Strangely, he felt a soothing sensation take over him.
"Everything is ready. We can begin the chants now."
One of the humanoid figures said to the lady.
Finally stepping forward from the dark area, Red was finally able to get a good look at the strange figure.
It wasn't much different from a normal human, except for some slight changes. It possessed all the traits a human had with the major exception being their skin and size.
They were around three metres tall and had pale crystalline blue skin. Along their body, faint arcane sigils and vein-like lines glow subtly beneath the crystalline surface.
"This..."
Going through the memories of his body before his awakening, he already knew what was standing before him.
A Walker.
The alien race that had invaded Elyon and is currently at war with the human race.
But here he was, in the midst of a group of humans and Walkers working together to accomplish their dark goals.
"Dammit! It just had to be me, huh."
The masked lady finally stepped back, joining the others.
They quickly encircled him and began chanting in a language that appeared familiar yet strange to him.
No one needed to tell him twice. Whatever they were up to wasn't good. And he wasn't going to sit idly and wait.
"What should I do? What should I do!?"
What sort of awakening is this! How did he even end up here? As much as he loved to assimilate all the memories of this body, he didn't have time for a strange force slammed onto him, and with it came a soul-rending pain.
"Not... again." He managed to mutter before another agonising scream tore through the chambers again.
Red struggled endlessly, but everything was for nought. The chains were extremely durable, even able to hold those awakened heroes of humanity let alone a mundane one.
His eyes turned bloodied as strange red characters began appearing across his naked body.
With each chant, the characters deepened, emitting a pulsating glow.
Red, unable to bear the pain any longer, was on the brink of passing out when something suddenly snapped within him.
"The fuck!"
His eyes widened as a red wave of energy exploded from his body, sending the group flying backwards.
The air groaned as space warped. The bright red energy slowly faded, and in its place stood a dark red sword embedded deep into the ground.
A sword Red instantly recognised. But strangely, he wasn't in control of his body to lay any accusation.
The chains that had stubbornly held him down easily broke apart as he rose from the platform.
His now red eyes scanned the area only for a look of disgust to form across his face.
Without wasting time, he grabbed hold of the greatsword as if it weighed nothing and stepped forward.
"Stop him." One of the Walkers yelled, charging forward in panic.
"You dare try... defile my body!" Red roared, swinging the sword down. A red light flashed across the room, slamming into the distant wall with a great explosion.
The Walker stood in her tracks, eyes wide in shock as her body cleanly separated into two halves.
Those behind her weren't left out, their life extinguished by just a swing of the great red sword.
Red watched with wide eyes at the destruction, a deep realisation settling in. He wasn't the one who released that attack.
Hell! He wasn't even in control of his body. He had been forcefully ejected from the seat of consciousness, left to watch things play out from behind.
"Now, what do we have here?" A slick voice which wasn't his yet came from his mouth, easily travelled through the air.
Surprisingly, the Oni mask woman was alive. She had barely evaded the red light of destruction, yet her eyes didn't reveal fear.
Instead, awe.
"I‐it's true. The rumours of the Devil residing in his body are true!" She dropped to her knees, bowing deeply.
"Welcome back, Lord Athenea."
Red watched as his body moved past her, and in the next second how the Oni mask lady's head slid from her neck down to the ground, blood erupting from her neck like a geyser.
A maniacal smile formed across his face.
"Let's tear this place apart."