He was in the middle of giving a sermon when the world began to end. Now he stood before his people, those who kneeled before him, within his ancient vault.
This place was special. A land outside of time and space in which the Almighty and his holy angels used to store their ships of metal that cruised the stars. The vault itself was buried deep beneath the ground, sealed with so many layers of mana it would take a normal person a billion years to reach the end and cross over, yet the foe he fought, who now came for him, was far from normal.
He quietly stared out at the sea of faces that gazed back at him. Many screamed for help, and others pleaded for salvation that wouldn't come.
"Sir," one of his guards began. "We must hurry. Soon, the great Light will be here. There isn't much time left."
"Please save us!"
"We beg of you!"
"You promised us salvation!"
"I don't want to die!"
"Save us!"
He smiled, even despite everything that was going on. It wasn't one of joy, nor was it of sorrow. In fact, it was a smile that lacked all traces of love or emotions, for those were things he did not have nor knew how to perform.
"But of course I will save you, for it is the duty of a king to be the servant of his people and grant their every wish. I will bestow salvation and a destined future upon each and every one who chooses it here and now. Allow me to perform the Rite of Sealment."
The first person to stand before him was a woman. She had long silver hair, bright purple eyes like his, and pointed ears. She was as beautiful as all elves were. Especially when compared to the lesser race of humans.
"Are you ready?" He asked her, though she held little choice. The fate of all his people was decided the moment they entered this vault.
"I-I am," the woman said nervously.
"May you show me your soul's nature."
"O-Of course, my king." The woman closed her eyes and placed her hand over her heart. She felt the beat begin to grow, and a soft glow began to seep out of her chest. A portal to her very soul was opened, and from it a thin shortsword slid out. "My soul."
He took the blade and inspected it. "Very good. Yes. This will do." He handed it back to her.
"Thank you, my king."
"No." He smiled. Like the last, it was fake. "Thank you. You'll be a worthy addition to my collection." He placed his hand upon her head, cupping her forehead, and then placed his other palm over her heart. His mana surged out, bright and golden, like the sun itself, and it mingled with her own energy, which spiraled around her form. The glow began to overtake her, and she gasped as her soul expanded and began to twist. Normally, the weapon was stored within the soul, but now the soul was going to be stored within the weapon. "I name you, Lightmaker."
When it was all said and done, all that remained before him was a single short sword, which he now held. He handed it to one of his guards, and they arranged for it to be placed somewhere within this vault. A new elven weapon had been created.
"Sir," another one of his guards spoke again. "She's almost here. Our time is running out."
He ignored his guard and continued to perform his duties. His people wanted to avoid death from the war that he caused. It was the perfect excuse to practice his new ability, and so that was what he did.
All elves were born with a soul weapon. It was forged from pure mana and resided within their body, waiting to be called upon when it was needed. By using the Rite of Sealment, he could reverse the pull, and instead of placing the weapon within the soul, he would place the soul within the weapon, sealing away the elf's body, causing them to cease to be, and greatly strengthening the soul weapon's true form.
His people were so desperate to survive and seek a way to live that this seemed like the perfect salvation to them.
How disgusting they all were. Lesser beings who dared to share the bloodline that flowed through his perfect veins.
He smiled and performed the rite again and again, creating more and more elven weapons. He did this until the world literally came to an end.
It happened so suddenly. The vault was fine one moment, and then space and time shook as something far greater than an infinite concept arrived. The walls to the vault shattered, and trillions upon trillions of white hands, each bigger than the universe itself, began to tear reality apart.
"King Sylas," one of his guards whimpered out as they saw the endless cosmos. "Knight Haru has arrived."
His world came to an end. All in one big flash of light. A war that he had caused, a war that he wanted. He smiled, and he laughed, because this was all going the way he hoped it would.
King Sylas was still on top.
***
"King Sylas." Davi's eyes weakly cracked open. "Great. Now I'm dreaming about a psychopath. One day everything will be normal- Where the fuck am I?"
He wasn't in the alleyway anymore, nor was he back at the hotel. He thought maybe he was back in his base for a moment, but the roof didn't match, and judging by the freezing chill, he was still within the dungeon.
The roof above him was white. Same for the walls and the floor. Was he in a hospital? The bed he was in was far more comfortable than a hospital bed. He sat up and groaned. He had a couple of bandages that were wrapped around his chest, from where he had been stabbed, and a few around his head. His eyes still ached, but they thankfully healed, and there was an IV in his arm that was hooked up to a bag that seemed to be slowly pumping a mix of water, blood, and a healing potion into his veins.
He recalled High appearing and then a flash of light. That weird horse man was here and talked about the seven. He had a feeling one of them would arrive, but he didn't expect they'd be so strong. His head was still aching from how hard they had smacked him, and he couldn't help but wonder if he had what it took to beat that monster.
He hadn't really gotten to use his trump card or power up fully, but even so, with how powerful that horseman was, could he really win?
Davi gripped the IV and tore it out of his arm. He was still in his usual robes and jacket that Clause had made him, which confused him even more as most hospitals seemed gung ho on stripping him.
There was a curtain around his bed, but he simply moved it to the side and gazed around the room, blinking away the pain.
"Seriously, where the hell am I?"
He didn't really know what to expect; after all, this place seemed close enough to a hospital, yet the moment the curtain came down, he became even more confused because instead of a white marble floor or ceiling, he found himself gazing around at brick walls and thick rugs on a wooden floor.
The bed he was in looked like a normal bed. Not a hospital one, and the floor, walls, and ceiling it had been placed next to were indeed made of white marble and cold, just as a hospital would be, but past the curtain, everything seemed to suddenly shift and be relayered. It looked like your average home. As if someone had copied and pasted a section of a hospital and simply plopped it down here.
The part he was at looked like a living room. There was some furniture scattered around, like chairs, a couch, shelves of books, and things like that. In each corner of the room, red curtains hung up in the shape of a circle, and they had gaps in them, allowing him to see beds like the one he was in and that their floor and roof were also white as opposed to the rest of the room.
He didn't see the others, and his Danger Sense also wasn't going off. That didn't mean he let his guard down, though.
As Davi gazed around his surroundings, he spotted a door near the back. Another odd place about this room was that there were no windows, yet they had modern doors. The kind that you had to turn the handles of and pull open.
As soon as he stepped outside, he was hit with a powerful chill, one that pierced past his clothes and flesh. All color faded away, and his mana surged to life as frozen molecules exploded against his skin. He was indeed still in the dungeon, but outside of the city?
"Oh, hello! You finally woke up!"
Standing outside was a woman. He found himself on what looked like a large balcony, with stairs leading down. She was casually seated on a large bench and wore a fluffy jacket. Her skin was more blue than purple, and she had long raven hair and pointed ears, just like the rest of the Licht-Fulk.
She noticed him staring and smiled. "How are you feeling? Think you're able to move around?"
"I guess?" Davi shrugged.
"Good. Why don't you help me then?" In front of her was a bin of potatoes, and she was taking her time peeling them with a long silvered knife. "Take a seat. I'm trying to make stew for the kids."
"Okay?" He had done weirder things. Davi took a seat and grabbed a potato along with a spare knife, and he started to slowly peel it. While he did that, he studied his surroundings.
The building he had been in was one of the strange crystal structures he had seen in the city. It floated off the ground and had various metal balconies wrapped around sections of it that had doors leading into rooms unseen. It wasn't the only building he noticed, either. From where he was, he saw a whole city.
It was far smaller than the Enforcer city; most of the buildings were little huts or tiny floating crystals. It was narrow, also, with alleyways that cut through everywhere, but it still had signs of life. People were walking the streets, kids were playing, and a few Licht-Fulk in armor seemed to be standing guard.
And yet, this wasn't the Enforcer city. That city had been bright, warm, and almost suffocating with how much life there was.
This place was dark and cold. There was no sun. In fact, there wasn't even a sky. Far, far above, was a crested roof of dirt, and the city lacked a horizon, for there were only walls of mountains that held up the sky of earth.
Davi realized he was underground. He was likely beneath Enforcer City. A whole other city, one that lacked the warmth and light the first one had, yet still somehow thrived and survived? Was this place the secret location that Falco had told him about?
There was only one way to truly find out.
"Excuse me." Davi cleared his throat as he finished peeling his fifth potato. "Where am I?"
"You're in the underworld."
"...Excuse me?"
The woman laughed at his remark. "That's what we call this place. It's beneath Enforcer City. That's where you came from, right? You're a human, aren't you?"
"Yeah? So, there really is a whole other city just beneath the ground?"
"Yep. High brought you here. You were in a pretty bad shape, so I went ahead and patched you up as best as I could. Your friends woke up about an hour ago and decided to explore the city."
Davi nodded. "How long was I out?"
"A day."
"A day!" Davi stood up and looked up to the roof of dirt, scowling. "Well, that's way too freaking long."
"Sir?"
"My friends are in trouble. When High took me here, I was fighting a monster. It's still in the city. How do I get out of here?"
The woman winced slightly. "Oh, sweetie, you can't leave."
"I'm not asking." Davi's eyes narrowed, and his mana grew more intense, freezing even the frozen time around him. "How do I escape?"
The woman shook her head. "Believe me, I'm not trying to keep you here, but there simply isn't a way out. This place is called the Underworld, because once you're here, you're stuck." A sad smile crossed her face, and she gazed at the small city landscape. "Have you wondered why the world above seems so perfect? That's because we're where the imperfection goes. Since only one city exists, space, rations, and things like that are very important. Those who step out of line are sent here. Those who say something the royal families don't like are sent here. And those who have too many kids or just aren't providing enough to society are sent here. We're tossed away like garbage, sent down a hole, and forced to make ends meet, living down here. We don't get the sun. We're stuck with the cold. Our homes are given a bit of power, but that's only if we can contribute enough. We farm for scraps of food, trying to make it grow in the cold, dead soil, and send it up to the pigs up top for them to gobble down, and if it's enough, they give our houses a tiny bit of light and allow us to keep on living."
"That sounds awful." Davi frowned. The Licht-Fulk up top seemed to be living mainly in joy. They had not a care in the world, and it was because a place like this existed beneath them. A kingdom built on the sacrifices of those it condemned. "I don't like what you just told me, believe me, and I'm not trying to make light of it, but you just said that you guys deliver food to the people up top? That means there is a way up top, right?" He asked. "I seriously need to get back to my guild."
"Your friends said the same thing." The woman nodded and let out a tired sigh. "I tried to explain to them what I'll tell you, but they didn't listen. You can't just 'leave' this place. How far underground do you think we are?"
Davi glanced up to the roof, which was miles up. "I don't really know. A lot? I get we can't just climb up, but surely if you can deliver food, there has to be a way?"
"We're trillions of miles down."
"What!"
"The roof above is nothing more than a distortion of space. The real thing is light-years away." The woman explained. "This land is nothing more than a twisted form of space and time that was stretched across an infinite axis. Underworld exists in what could be called a 'second dungeon'. You'd spend a million lifetimes just trying to climb back up to the world above."
"B-But the food?" Davi stuttered. "How is it transported?"
"Magic!" A new voice suddenly announced, and Davi felt an arm wrap around his shoulder. High was back, the masked man waving his arms back and forth.
"High?" Davi's eyes lit up slightly, and he nodded. "Right, you took me here, and you were up top, right? I'm assuming that means you have a way out of here? Through magic?"
The woman sighed. "High, must you get his hopes up?"
"It'll be fine, Mel." High chuckled. "You didn't see what this guy can do." He glanced at Davi and then pointed up to the roof. "Mel here was being honest. That's no real sky, just our minds trying to make sense of the never-ending void and latching onto the only concept. Underworld exists as a city beneath Enforcer City, and they throw all their unwanted trash down here. When you're in Underworld, you're expected to stay forever, but there is one exception to this rule."
"Yeah? What's that? You're teleporting chalk?"
"Not quite." High reached into his coat and pulled out the piece of chalk, twirling it. "This bad boy can let me enter the Underworld as much as I want, but that's because entering this place is actually very easy. It's leaving that's the hard part. You are correct that this chalk does allow you to make the means to leave, though." He pointed out across the city, near one of the mountains that seemed to hold up the fake sky. "Food that is collected in this realm is sent up through a tunnel inside one of those mountains. If you try to make a door out of the Underworld, you'll accidentally step into pure space and be ripped apart on an atomic level! You have to make the door specifically in one of those tunnels!"
"Okay? So, let's go do that." Davi nodded. "We can just leave that way, right?"
Mel let out a bitter laugh and hung her head. "Listen to him. He thinks it's easy." Her smile was sad. "There's a gang that controls the tunnels. They work with the royal family, and they're the ones who guard that place. They refuse to let any of us leave or even get near them. High only got out because he spent years pretending to work for them. It took him forever to escape, and now he went and wasted his one chance by teleporting back here." She shot High a sour look. "You could have lived freely on the surface, away from all this bs, yet you crawled back."
"I had to save them." High shrugged. "They had the princess with them, and I couldn't risk the royal family getting her back, so I panicked and decided to take us all home! It's fine though! Davi here can help not just me but all of us get out! Isn't that right, Davi?"
"I'm guessing you need me for my strength, right?" Davi questioned. "You want me to beat up whoever this gang is and dethrone them so we can all take the tunnel and use it to get out of here?"
"You're well informed!"
"I've done stuff like this since before I was even a Knight." Davi shrugged.
"Well, that's great, because it's exactly what we need!" High laughed. "We need you to beat up the big baddy and free us!"
"Sounds easy enough."
"It isn't." Mel shook her head. "We tried beating them before, you know. We lost."
"Yeah, but we didn't have Davi." High clapped Davi on the back.
"He's going to lose." Mel said coldly.
"We can try, though." High shot back.
Davi frowned. "Who do I need to fight exactly? This gang? How strong are they?"
"They're insanely powerful," Mel stated. "Each member used to be part of the royal guard. They're old and retired, but still. They aren't so easy that you can mess with them. There are five members in total, and each one of them has five more guys who work under them, who are made up of savages and psychos that once roamed the above world. They even have Invaders under their control, which they use as beasts."
Davi nodded and did the math. "So five strong guys, all who used to be what Sunny was, and then they each have five guys under them who are just thugs, so that's thirty people in total? Plus a little extra for the beasts that they have under their thumb?"
"Exactly!" High nodded. "It will be easy peasy; you can handle it. Oh, they might also have golems."
Davi hummed. "Sunny was strong, but I think if he and I fought all out, I would win. These five guys are older but retired, so they should be a little weaker. It'll be difficult, but I don't think it is impossible."
"There's more." Mel sighed.
"Like what?"
"The five former royal guards all serve directly under one person." She said slowly. "The one who leads them and commands them. One of the strongest beings within this dungeon."
Davi felt a sudden sinking feeling in his gut. "Who?"
"Himvel. The last elf."
The leader of the gang, the one who was in charge above everyone else, was the legendary elf who built the machine… Himvel, the missing piece to the puzzle, wasn't so missing after all.