Dust hung heavy in the air, carried by a wind that whispered through the narrow streets. Footsteps echoed against the cracked road — dozens of boots striking in rhythm, a sound sharp enough to pierce the uneasy silence that had been stretching for an hour.
"Commander Yami," a soldier finally broke the stillness, his voice raw and edged with frustration. "We have been moving like nobodies on foot for an hour. Our horses— I know you gave them to that man you hired to watch over them—but how much more, sir? We've already crossed so many houses, so many people, yet we're still moving. Why so? I mean… our mission was to take Akuma by force, not—"
"Not what?" Yami's voice cut through the air like the edge of a cold blade — low, whisper-like, but it silenced every heart at once.
The soldier froze, swallowing the rest of his words.
Another man stepped forward, his face pale under the dim red dusk. "Yes… I mean, Commander, we haven't even made a move yet. What are we supposed to do? Just keep walking?"
Yami exhaled through his nose — a long, irritated sigh. He turned slightly, his shadow stretching over the trembling soldiers, the black of his cloak flickering under the faint torchlight.
"Listen now," he said, his tone low but firm, "and listen very, very closely. I will say this once — and that's all."
The men straightened, boots stiff against the dirt. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
"Akuma," Yami continued, eyes narrowing, "is not our mission."
A wave of murmuring erupted through the ranks. Confusion, disbelief, and faint fear crawled across their faces. The sound of voices rose, echoing in panic — until—
"LISTEN!"
Yami's scream lashed through the night, shaking the hearts of his army.
In an instant, silence fell again. The flickering flames of torches hissed against the night breeze. Sweat rolled down foreheads, cutting paths through the dust. Doubt still lingered, but no one dared speak.
"I said," Yami's tone lowered into a chilling calm, "this is not our true mission. Our true mission… is to locate the Crystal Stone."
The words carried a weight heavier than the air itself.
"To take Akuma by force," he went on, "we don't need to waste our might. No—" a slow, sharp smile spread across his face, eyes glinting faintly, "—we can use our brains."
Inside, his thoughts whispered colder than his voice. Besides… taking Akuma by force like this… is impossible. Even for me.
"Soldiers!" he called again, voice rising into command. "Listen! Tonight, we will camp here. Tomorrow, we continue the search."
The army obeyed silently, spreading across the dry ground. Torches were planted into the soil; their glow barely touched the horizon where dark mountains loomed like sleeping beasts.
Yami turned his gaze toward them — though far, yet clearly visible for Yami, "The Crystal Stones', — and his eyes darkened.
---
Far from them, beneath the mainland, in the depths of underground where even air grew heavy and time itself lost meaning — in the Velvet, two shadows walked the ruins of the underground.
Their boots scraped against broken stones. The ground steamed faintly from the unnatural heat.
"Lucas," Rui said, his breath shallow beneath his scarf, "there's still that… suffocation I'm getting."
Lucas turned sharply, sweat glistening down his temple. "You fucker," he snapped, his voice muffled by the cloth wrapped around his mouth, "first of all, you made us wear these all-black clothes from top to bottom, this scarf, and on top of that, war armor beneath everything. So, yeah, suffocation is less of our concern right now!"
Their steps echoed against the hollow walls as he continued, anger bursting through exhaustion.
"We've traveled at least thirty miles, Rui. And what shocks me is your instinct call— this motherfucking idea that says, 'don't travel with horses.' So, here we are, walking barefoot for two hours, and still far from our location! All I see are empty streets, broken houses — nothing! And though it's darker here than the mainland… it's still so damn hot!"
Rui lifted a hand, apologetic. "Alright, alright, I got you. I'm sorry. But think — if we had taken horses, it could've ended badly for us."
"Badly?" Lucas barked, glancing around at the wasteland. "What bad exactly? All I see is nothing. There aren't even people living here! How can anything bad happen in a place this dead?"
They walked further, their shadows long under the dim orange gloom that pulsed from cracks in the earth. The air smelled of ash and iron, suffocating and thick.
Then, suddenly — the path ended.
A massive wall rose before them, towering into the unseen darkness above. It looked as though it had no end.
"What?" Rui blinked, disbelief flashing across his face.
"What?" Lucas echoed, equally stunned.
The two stood still, faces lit by the dull glow of the molten cracks beneath their feet.
"How… exactly?" Rui muttered. "I get it, I've never been in the depths of the underground, but even from the stories — forget stories! Even when I sent my soldiers for undercover inception, they said…"
The memory hit like a blade —
---
Flashback –
"It's hell… a land corrupted," the soldier's voice trembled, eyes empty. "I know the underground is bad… but that place— that place is a living night… a night...— Ni…."
His body jerked. Then he fell, collapsing before Rui, unconscious — the trauma too deep to bear.
"Get some water! Quick!" Rui ordered, his heart pounding.
A soldier rushed, splashing cold water across the fallen man's face. Slowly, the man's eyes fluttered open.
"Thank goodness," Rui muttered, relief in his tone.
But when the soldier spoke again, his voice had changed — hollow, trembling.
"I'm… I'm sorry. What I wanted to say…"
"Forget about it," Rui said softly. "You don't have to force yourself."
"No." The soldier's voice cracked. His eyes, once lifeless, now burned with madness. "Yes, I mean— forget all of us!"
He rose to his feet, clutching his head. "All of us should forget about it! Hell… it's hell!"
He repeated it again and again, his voice fading as he stumbled toward the exit, chanting, "It's hell, it's hell…" until he vanished into the corridor.
---
Back in the present, Rui stared at the wall, the memory crawling across his mind like a scar reopening.
"So what my soldiers told me," Rui whispered, "was that it's hell… not this."
Lucas glanced at him, frowning. "Yes, but think for yourself. You and I are already devastated from the underground, and now this. For a normal man, it's understandable if they lose their minds. And besides — those five exceptional soldiers who went into the depths before us, all of them lost their sanity after the mission. Believing a mentally challenged person… I think that's foolish."
Rui's tone darkened, sharp and burning. "Lucas… those weren't just any soldiers. They were my childhood friends. And yes, I believe."
His eyes gleamed faintly in the dim heat — not with madness, but with faith.
Lucas exhaled, lowering his gaze.
They scanned the wall, eyes desperate for a sign — a marking, a symbol, anything.
Then—
"I got it!" Rui's voice broke the silence, echoing through the hollow tunnel. "I got it!"
Lucas jerked in surprise. "What?"
"I know that this wall is a distraction," Rui said, his eyes wide with realization. "The real thing is behind this."
"And how exactly did you know that?" Lucas asked, suspicion mixing with exhaustion.
"Well… nothing much," Rui replied, forcing a smile. "It's just my instinct. And trust."
Lucas stared at him for a moment, then sighed. "Alright, I believe you. But how are we going to climb this wall? It's massive. If nothing else, it'll take us a week to climb it — and for your information, in four days we have to leave for Koha. It's already too late."
Rui clenched his fists, frustration building in his chest. "Fuck, I know!"
He slammed his fist into the wall. The echo shook dust loose — but the wall didn't even crack. Again, and again, he struck it. Still nothing.
"Alright," Lucas said, stepping beside him, "if you're punching, I'll punch this shit too."
He turned and gave a light elbow to the wall where he'd been sitting. The sound was dull — unimpressive.
"Nothing," Rui muttered, wiping sweat from his brow.
A sigh escaped his lips. "Alright. We should leave. There's no point — why try?"
Lucas grunted, pushing himself up to his feet.
But before he could straighten fully, a faint crack echoed through the air.
The sound came from behind him — exactly where his elbow had struck.
Both men froze.
The crack widened — spiderwebbing across the stone like lightning. The earth trembled.
Within seconds, the wall before them began to collapse, brick by brick, until it shattered entirely — and what lay beyond made their hearts stop.
"…Is this," Rui whispered, voice trembling, "the place they were talking about… h—hell?"
"Y… yes," Lucas stammered, his words dry, his throat tight.
Before them stretched a world unlike any other.
The sky — bloody red, swirling like liquid fire. The air — thick and molten, burning their skin with every breath. The ground shimmered like hot glass.
The houses that stood were half-melted ruins, and the people — pale, skeletal, their eyes hollow — wandered aimlessly, as though stripped of souls.
The air reeked of sulfur and despair. Each gust of wind carried a faint scream, echoing from somewhere unseen.
Rui and Lucas stood there, eyes wide open, horror etched across their faces.
Shock. Terror. Suffocation.
And the truth settled heavy in their bones.
This was not legend.
This was not myth.
This was Hell.