Underworld
Akeno, Rias Gremory's queen, turned in her sleep.
Once again, her mind was trapped in that recurring, obsessive dream—one that returned night after night with almost cruel precision. She stood at the threshold of an ancient crypt, carved from smooth black stone and covered in symbols no modern demon could still read. The air there was heavy, saturated with an archaic energy—different from that of the Underworld, older even than the Fall of the angels.
Every time she gazed upon that place, a voice rose.
A dark, deep voice, resonating like a distant choir, speaking in a forgotten language. Yet, inexplicably, Akeno understood every word. It was not mental translation, nor a spell of comprehension—it was as if the language already belonged to her.
The voice whispered softly.
Almost tenderly.
Then the vision changed.
The crypt warped, opened, revealing a cage.
A hideous cage, designed not merely to contain, but to break. Chains engraved with burning runes coiled around twisted bars made of a dark metal that seemed to devour light. Every ring, every link pulsed to the rhythm of a dull heartbeat—like a heart imprisoned.
Inside stood a being shrouded in shadow.
She could discern neither its face nor its exact form—only a massive, motionless silhouette, bound and restrained. Yet despite its state, she felt its presence with terrifying intensity. This being was conscious. Awake. Patient.
Then a different voice rose.
No longer deep and monstrous… but gentle.
Almost soothing.
"Power… come to me and you shall obtain limitless power. Priestess of thunder, go to the crypt. You alone can free my greatest warriors… and only they can free me."
Akeno felt her heart tighten.
The voice continued, caressing her mind like a forbidden promise.
"Free them. When I too am released from my chains, you shall take vengeance on the man who abandoned you… and I will restore to life the person you love most in this world."
At those words, a dull pain pierced her soul.
Her mother.
Always her mother.
Suddenly, the voice twisted into an abyssal growl, and the dream shattered. The cage vanished, replaced by a Great Eye—immense, lidless, wreathed in blazing fire. It stared at her with crushing intensity, as if seeing every corner of her being.
Terrified—and exhilarated—Akeno awoke screaming.
"Akeno! Are you alright?!"
The bedroom door flew open. Rias Gremory rushed to her side and immediately pulled her into an embrace. Akeno's body trembled, drenched in cold sweat, her breathing rapid, almost frantic.
Yet something deeply unsettled Rias.
What she felt in her friend was not fear.
It was anticipation.
And desire.
Since her mother's death—executed for having loved a fallen angel—Akeno had suffered horrific nightmares. Entire nights of tears, muffled screams, and blood-soaked memories. Rias had learned how to comfort her, how to gently bring her back to reality.
But this dream was different.
"It's fine, Rias…" Akeno murmured, her voice strangely calm. "Better than fine."
Rias froze.
She pulled back slightly, searching her best friend's eyes. Akeno's gaze shone with a new determination—cold, almost electric. It was no longer the pain of a broken child… but the resolve of a woman ready to do anything.
After a few moments of hesitation, Rias left the room. She tried to sleep, but doubt seeped into her mind like a slow poison.
Left alone, Akeno sat motionless on her bed, staring into nothingness.
Then she stood.
Her steps carried her to her private library. She brushed her fingers along the shelves before stopping before a book bound in dark red leather. At first glance, it seemed unremarkable—save for the wear of age and an almost imperceptible aura.
She knew it by heart.
This was not the first time she had dreamed of the crypt. Shortly after becoming Rias's queen, the visions had begun. At first vague. Then clearer. And recently… the voice.
At first, the promise of power had tempted her. Revenge against her father, the man who had abandoned her. But when she had been promised the resurrection of her mother…
She had stopped resisting.
Ironically, she was ready to sell her soul to something worse than the Devil just to see her mother's smile again.
She opened the book and turned the pages without hesitation, stopping at page forty-six.
An ancient engraving depicted a desolate valley, bordered by cliffs beneath a perpetually dark sky.
The Valley of Morningstar.
A forbidden place.
A cursed place.
Lucifer himself had forbidden access to it, and the Gremory family had watched over it for centuries, ensuring that no demon ever approached.
The text told an ancient tale: Lucifer had once stolen an object of immeasurable value from his father. Yahweh, consumed by rage, had declared war. Both beings had perished—but the Demons had honored their creator's will and protected the stolen object.
Akeno closed the book slowly.
She no longer had any doubt.
The crypt from her visions lay there.
A fierce determination lit her eyes. To bring her mother back to life, she would have to violate a millennia-old taboo. Betray the Underworld. Perhaps even betray Rias.
But at that moment, only one thought mattered.
If gods, angels, and demons had allowed her mother to die…
Then she had no reason left to obey them.