The vast horizon looked ethereal as a black hole stood there in the distance. Then the black sky shifted, a blood red color leaked from the sky and turned the whole sky red. A magnificent sight to behold.
Xior stood a top a cliff, as he stared into the horizon. In the distance he saw a man, his body covered by a black armor jagged at the edges and two long horns which bend backwards. His eyes were completely black, just like him.
Around him were countless corpses, skeletons and other species alike. All of them had claw marks on their bodies.
But then a searing pain woke him up. Xior dreamt about this weird place not before being whipped by one of the officers of the skeleton.
The skeleton was a crown prince from the fifteenth floor, he had introduced himself to his 'slaves'. His purpose was to bring sacrifices to the being that lived at the farthest edge of the Abyss.
The Abyss was a separate dimension from Earth, it was the origin place of the demons who were born from all the evil in the world.
Apart from the chain around Xior's neck, his arms were also chained. In front of him was a tall elven woman and behind him was a woman from the Rabbit Tribe residing inside the tower.
After the tutorial, the floors one to ten have different beast tribes inhabiting those floors, which essentially is just a huge continent containing all of those tribes. So far only nine floors had been cleared, the tenth was difficult enough that many hunters were unable to clear it.
Xior had lost count of how many days had passed, there was no sun, no moon just the black hole which loomed over the horizon, unchanged. Neither of his nearest fellow slaves said a single thing, they just kept on walking.
Suddenly the ground beneath them trembled, the soldiers of the skeleton shouted and all the slaves were pushed back. Xior lost his balance and since the elven woman was taller and heavier he fell towards her dragging the rabbit woman along him.
"Get off me you filthy human!" The elf barked as she pushed him away.
"Elara don't be harsh on the kid.
I know you hate humans but he's in the same situation as us." The rabbit woman said as she helped Xior get up.
The area where they stood was now a huge crater, a snake emerged from the crater. It looked like a cobra but had a pair of bat wings. It flicked its tail towards the slaves and a dozen of them were launched into the air to their deaths.
"Oh Great Guardian of the Abyss, I greet you. My name is Heinrich D. Rost, I'm taking these slaves as sacrifices for 'He' who lives at the Edge - The End." The skeleton said as he bowed down.
"At least one of you has some manners. King Rost has taught you well. I attacked you because you entered my territory without my permission." The snake hissed as it told the reason.
"I apologize, Great Guardian. I overlooked it, I'm ashamed so for punishment I will give you an arm of one of my slaves." Heinrich exclaimed.
"Very well. I shall choose the slave myself."
It began looking at the direction of Xior and others. It ignored most but then it saw Xior. The boy wore tattered clothes and his eyes were completely black but were intense and deep. It hissed and gestured towards Xior.
"Oh Great Guardian, that's such a great choice. The human is very peculiar.
His black eyes have a strange depth in them." I also wondered how would he taste, but I'm happy now that you're doing the honors.
The skeleton pulled Xior forward, now he stood in front of the snake. He didn't speak, he just observed. It lowered its head and quickly took his left arm.
Xior screamed, the intense pain made him fall down as he put pressure at the wound where his arm used to be. Now it was missing from the bicep below. The snake enjoyed his arm with a satisfied expression on his face.
Xior was still on the ground when both the elven and rabbit woman dragged him back. He was just a child, going through such a thing was traumatic. But Xior was different, he was used to his life being hell.
He gritted his teeth through the pain as both the women helped put pressure and bandage his arm. He thought he knew pain, but he was wrong. Losing parents is different from losing an arm.
The blood loss made him dizzy as his eyes closed and he passed out. The last thing he saw were the elf and the rabbit women as they helped him.
*****
Becca lay on an old worn bed, she held her knees close to her chest as she sobbed. In her hands she held an old pendent. It was Xior's, the picture inside aged significantly but she could still see him, not more than five years old along with his parents
It had been two days since the incident happened. Xior was sacrificed and abandoned by Derek. She had lost her best friend. The other shelter kids stood outside her room as they heard her sobs. Xior despite being indifferent to everything, always helped them.
The building door opened and Derek entered. He went to her door and knocked it hard.
"Becca open up. I've taken an appointment at the Hunter Association for your awakener test."
She did not respond. The only sound coming out of her room was of sobs. That infuriated Derek a lot. He twisted the story that Xior had sacrificed himself for us, and the fact he tried to offer himself.
"If you don't open I'll break down the door. This is a great opportunity for you Becca, for these kids." He insisted.
"Go away Derek, I don't want to do anything with you. I'll go to the Hunter Association myself if I have to.
I hate you and I wish upon a fate worse than what you did to Xior upon you." She replied with anguish.
Derek gritted his teeth and left, he wouldn't cause any issues at the shelter he grew up at. As Becca kept crying little did she know about the hell Xior was going through. And it was just the beginning.
Derek shoved him into the worst imaginable place possible. The Abyss, was truly terrifying. And the chances of his survival were close to zero.