The rain was falling with a deadly gentleness, hitting the asphalt in a steady rhythm, like a sad melody the night never tires of. The sky was gray like an old widow, and the air was heavy with the scent of rain and soil… just the way Neuvilette liked it.
He stood alone on the sidewalk, as if the city had abandoned him. No umbrella, no destination, nothing but a plastic cup trembling in his hand.
"This weather plays music to my heart…" he muttered coldly, raising the cup to his lips.
His life had followed a mockingly predictable pattern. Job after job, firing after firing… and the reason? No rage, no ambition, just a crushing boredom. He used to hit his managers without clear provocation, then walk away as if nothing had happened.
He sipped the last drop of his drink, then tossed the cup into a trash can. He closed his eyes… speaking to himself in a low voice soaked in sarcasm:
"Yeah… I'll become an Akuma in the nightmares of the Abyss. What a joke. I could almost laugh."
He slowly opened his eyes. The red light at the crossing was glowing in front of him. With each blink, the boredom inside him screamed louder.
"Maybe… maybe I'll find something to break this damn stagnation inside me."
The light turned green. He walked slowly in one direction: the Akuma Organization.
The distance was long, and the rain was merciless, but Neuvilette felt nothing… like a ghost walking without sensation. After half an hour, he stood in front of a building dripping with authority. A skyscraper piercing through the clouds as if defying them.
He looked up… the glass balcony reflected the gray sky, and the building's lights created an aura of awe around it.
"Their lives are beautiful… money, battles, endless noise. I need this… badly."
"Hey, what are you staring at?"
A rough voice snapped Neuvilette out of his thoughts.
He turned halfway, looking at the guard coldly and said:
"I liked the engineer's taste… just wanted to admire it."
The guard furrowed his brows and stepped closer:
"If you're not here to join, then please… leave, kid."
But Neuvilette didn't move. He stepped up three stairs, looked down at the guard, his voice calm like the rain:
"Relax… I just came to become one of you."
His indifferent demeanor irritated the guard, but he said nothing. He just looked at him from under his brows and said:
"Then let's see if you're qualified… you annoying pretty boy."
Neuvilette smiled faintly, arrogantly, and patted the guard on the shoulder:
"My qualifications… will speak for themselves, don't worry."
He entered the building. The interior looked like an art gallery—excessively clean, glossy white floors reflecting his face.
'Damn… the place is so clean I look handsome in it. That's dangerous…'
"Hey, mister wall-gazer!"
A soft voice stopped him.
He turned around… a blonde girl with short hair and wide brown eyes, dressed in a neat uniform.
He walked toward her confidently, placed his hand on the desk, and leaned slightly forward with a smile:
"Good evening, beautiful. I'm here to join the Akuma… and I believe I'm an unmissable deal."
She didn't respond. She only looked at him with faint sarcasm, then began typing on the keyboard. Her gaze seemed to shred his arrogance without a single word.
Neuvilette wiped his face, thinking something was on it.
"What's your name?"
She finally asked, coldly.
"Neuvilette… Neuvilette Sullivan."
He said while brushing his wet hair back, sinking into the role of "the mysterious guy."
A short silence passed, then the girl finally smiled and said:
"Wait in the seats. Your turn will come soon."
Neuvilette walked to the chairs and sat down. The indoor air was cold, and the silence carried a strange aura of mystery.
Suddenly, a door in the corner of the office opened, and a girl stepped out… and with her, silence fled.
Everyone in the hall stepped aside as if she held some special rank.
Her hair was long and white with red streaks. Her eyes were icy blue… and on her cheek, black kohl streamed in a strange and alluring pattern.
Her features were disturbingly beautiful. She wore a long white shirt open in the middle, revealing part of her stomach, and had two swords strapped to her back… one of which was dripping blood.
Neuvilette felt a tightness in his chest. He stared at her for a long time. She walked as if she didn't belong to this world. One of the escorts said:
"She's classified as Akuma Fool… her exceptional skills just need time to become legendary."
The other smiled and said:
"Fresh blood to protect this world from the nightmares of the Abyss… what a talent."
She approached the receptionist and said in a cold tone:
"I'm ready… whenever you are."
The receptionist gestured toward a door to the left of the hall, surrounded by ominous energy.
"Please… the room is there."
The girl walked steadily, passed by Neuvilette… and looked at him for a second.
Her gaze was piercing, cold, and familiar.
He turned to her, but she quickly averted her eyes and entered the room. As she opened the door, a dark aura exploded from her… bearing a name spoken only in whispers:
Abyss.
She closed the door behind her.
Neuvilette closed his eyes and whispered with a broken tone:
"That look… those features… it can't be… she looks just like her."
"Sir, it's your turn," the receptionist called out in a cold tone.
Neuvilette stood from his seat, drawing a slow breath, as if his body was preparing to enter a new phase of madness.
He extended his arms slightly to the sides and walked steadily toward the door, while the receptionist followed him with a gaze full of undisguised disgust—like she saw him as an anomaly in this place, a walking curse.
He opened the door slowly… and stepped into a stunning room. Pure white, illuminated by a ceiling painted in gold, glowing like the heart of the sun.
In the center stood a woman in a sleek purple dress, her black hair tied tightly back, her eyes as dark as the night, and her beauty carried a solemnity that offered no comfort.
She smiled at him and approached with graceful steps.
"Looks like you're the last Akuma for today… I hope you possess abilities worthy of this seat, like the girl before you."
But Neuvilette didn't answer immediately. He kept staring at her, his eyes fixed. Something about her aura froze the air around her… something more akin to a silent threat.
'This isn't an ordinary staff member… She's hiding more than she shows. Could be the director… or worse.'
He smiled with confident arrogance and said with a tone laced with superiority:
"I don't know her abilities, but mine are better."
He slowly raised his right hand and removed the black bandage covering it… revealing a hand glowing with a dark aura, like black smoke coiling around his arm like a serpent dancing on flames of wrath.
The woman's eyes widened in rare astonishment, and she spoke in a tone mixed with admiration and caution:
"What a terrifying hand… Can you show me what it can do?"
Neuvilette smiled, moved his hand vertically… and from his palm emerged a dark scythe, slicing through the marble floor with terrifying smoothness, leaving behind a trail as if a storm had passed.
She placed her hand under her chin, her tone savoring the chaos:
"In all my time here… I've never seen a hand with such a unique aura."
But the moment didn't last.
A man appeared suddenly from nowhere, as if he emerged from a void. His hair was long and jet black, wearing a black coat, a red shirt, and behind him floated a massive sword, suspended without strings.
He grabbed Neuvilette's hand with sudden force and said in a voice that brooked no courtesy:
"Boy… where did you get this hand?"
Neuvilette shot him a cold glare and yanked his hand away violently:
"What kind of question is that…?"
The man's eyes were completely black—no whites, no life. His gaze devoured answers before they were even spoken.
"That hand… belongs to the Nawi clan. How did you obtain it?"
A heavy silence filled the room. Neuvilette, without hiding his anger, repeated:
"I don't need to answer your question."
The woman stepped in quickly, standing between them, her tone as firm as it was gentle:
"Enough, Shingen. We're here to test unique abilities, not trace bloodlines. And this boy… has one."
Shingen stared at Neuvilette for a long moment, then struck the air with his hand, opening a black rift that tore through space itself. He stepped halfway into it, then looked back at him and said in a foreboding voice:
"You don't look like a Nawi… but I will find the truth, even if I have to tear you apart."
And with that, he vanished.
Neuvilette felt a sudden wave of hatred surge through his chest. Something inside him wanted to tear that man apart on the spot. But Mari, who was still smiling, placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Ignore him… Shingen is obsessed with analyzing people's powers. Just leave him be."
She gently pulled her hand back and continued:
"Also, Mr. Neuvilette… you've been accepted. You are now one of the Akuma… and you will enter the Abyss."
Neuvilette smiled as he rewrapped the bandage around his hand, as if nothing had happened:
"And when do I start? Miss…?"
"I'm Mari Insolf… just call me Mari. And you can start now."
They walked out of the chamber together. The receptionist stood waiting for them, rising with respect the moment she saw Mari. The latter spoke firmly, placing a strong hand on Neuvilette's shoulder:
"This boy passed the test… Rank: Akuma Fool. Register him immediately—he begins his journey into the Abyss now."
"Wh—what?!" the receptionist gasped so loudly that both Neuvilette and Mari exchanged puzzled looks.
Then she bowed quickly and said:
"Apologies… it's fine. Welcome, Mr. Neuvilette… to Akuma."
Neuvilette nodded with a sideways smirk. Mari leaned close and whispered:
"Head to that room… You'll find a paper floating in the dark. Read it, and everything will begin."
"Good luck… Akuma Fool."
**
Neuvilette approached the room… and the moment he touched the doorknob, he felt a strange aura swallowing him from the inside. He looked back—Mari was waving at him.
He opened the door.
And darkness surged toward him like waves with no shore.
Everything vanished.
All that remained was a paper floating in the middle of the darkness, lit by a faint glow.
He stepped closer and read in a low voice:
[In the era of snow and chaos… survive, escape, and fight. These are your only options. Add your mind to them… if it still remains.]
[You, as an Akuma… must kill the Abyss of Elden if you wish to survive.]
[And beware… of the depths of the Abyss.]
[For they are not always what they seem.]
Neuvilette's eyes shot open.
An old shack. Cold seeping through it. Cracks in the walls whispering of death.
And before his eyes… a beast coiled around a human corpse, devouring it mercilessly.
The beginning… had begun.