A loud ringing in Dante's head made him open his eyes immediately. A familiar sight met his eyes. His Sea of Consciousness. The wide stretch of water that, William had described to be the center of his subconscious.
"We meet again, young Dante." A deep voice spoke.
Dante turned to see a familiar face. The long untamed black hair, the blue eyes and the pointed nose was right in front of him.
"You were the previous Shadow Paladin. Right?" Dante asked.
"Yes I was."the man responded but Dante noticed his lips twitching.
" What is it!? "
" Put some goddamn clothes on! I can't stand the sight of that!"the man barked in obvious annoyance
That was when Dante noticed he was fully nude.
" Shit! Can I have some clothes? "
" There's nothing here but everything you've ever seen can be replicated here. Just visualize some clothes to cover that monstrosity."he ordered.
Dante did as he was told and soon, he was clothed in his normal attire.
" Follow me."the man ordered.
" Can I know your name?"Dante demanded.
" Just call me Carl. For now. "
" Okay Carl, where the hell are we going to?"
" Somewhere for you to learn how to use the Tenebris. The way you use it puts my honor at stake."Carl simply said.
He started walking North and Dante hurried to follow his fast steps.
They walked on for three hours in total silence until Dante finally asked:
" Wait, the last time I was here, it was because Izalea knocked me unconscious, so does that mean..."
"Dante look over there." Carl stopped and pointed westward.
Dante looked over and to his surprise, a black void was in the distance, slowly sucking the Sea of Consciousness into nothingness.
"That wasn't there before." Dante muttered.
"Oh it was. You were just blind. That's how serious this is. In three days, all this will be gone and when that happens, you'll be a brain dead demon that belongs to Asmodeus. If that happens and he uses your full potential, the Order is doomed." Carl explained.
" I know. "Dante said quietly and started walking.
" Where are you going? "
" We've yet to arrive at our destination, Carl."Dante frowned.
" Says who? We're here. "Carl smiles and stretched his palms forward.
A dark vortex of energy started to form around him, so strong that it started pushing Dante back.
" Kairos of the Eighteen timelines, I summon thee! "Carl said in a loud voice.
A figure of a man in a cloak started to materialize, and slowly, the vortex dissipated. Two men were now present before Dante. The new entity was a middle aged man similar to Carl in looks but was more refined and elegant looking, even in the large cloak.
"What is it brother?" Kairos asked, annoyance all over his tone.
"I did you a favor and brought your to-be apprentice here for you." Carl smiled, pointing to Dante.
"Fool! My very presence in his Sea of Consciousness could kill him instantly. Why didn't you come to Eternity?"Kairos barked at Carl, who looked unbothered.
Kairos then turned to Dante.
" Young lad, forgive the stupidity of my twin brother. He doesn't seem to think properly. "he said, shooting murderous glances at Carl.
" I can't stay here for a long time so we need to leave now."
Dante nodded and walked over to his side. Kairos wasted no time and opened a large white portal.
" Let's go",Kairos said and quickly entered the portal.
Dante turned to Carl and smiled at him.
"Thanks. For everything." he managed to say before Kairos reappeared and pulled him into the portal.
"He's a weird one. No wonder he didn't die from the weight of my power at birth." Carl murmured to himself before returning back to where they had started from.
********************************
Asmodeus sat on a huge black throne in his palace, located in the depths of the Underworld. A young female demon was pouring what seemed to be wine into the crystal cup in his right hand. After she had finished with her task, she turned to leave the huge throne room but when she was about to exit, the huge metal doors opened with such a huge force that it slammed her against the stone wall, turning her into instant meat paste.
"That was my favorite cup bearer. Whoever enters must bear good news." Asmodeus barked at the incoming demons.
Two demons walked in, holding a long metal box with each demon holding one side. They placed the box a few meters away from Asmodeus' throne and opened it.
" We received this at the gates of the underworld, from a certain Charles BloodCall." the first demon said boldly.
Asmodeus peered inside only to find his son, Mara's body cut into nine pieces. There was a card in the box which read:
TO REPRESENT THE NINE LEVELS
OF HELL.
Yours sincerely,
Charles BloodCall.
Asmodeus slump back in his throne and gripped it's armrest tightly. His aura increased so much that the demon who spoke died on the spot.
"Forgive us, my Lord." the other demon knelt in fear.
"For your first offense, you met the murderer who killed my son and let him live. Second offense, you took my son's remains from him and brought it to my goddamn palace! You deserve to die!" Asmodeus screamed in fury.
His eyes became so ferocious that the demon, on impulse began to run. He didn't even run up to five meters when thorns bound his limbs.
" Die!"
A black thorn entered the demon's mouth and started to grow inside his body. It grew so big that it tore the demon's body from the inside.
"Dharki." Asmodeus said and exited the throne room