"Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before."
— The Raven
"The Hollow Crown?"
"Yeah, I know it. I am more so surprised that you even heard of it considering the fact that no one ever really talks about it."
"What? You want me to tell you about it? Well sure. It's been a while since I've read it but I remember it. Let's see… This story dated quite a bit ago."
"The story begins explaining that we, humans, fought these supernatural creatures called devils for hundreds of years."
"What are devils? Why, they're these big, red, horned creatures that curse us and condemn us to our eternal doom, of course."
"I'm joking. Partially. Devils looked humanoid for the most part. The only difference was their unnaturally colored hair and their eyes."
"These devils resided in a place below our world called the 'Underworld'. I know, very appropriate."
"The main part of this story covers how the 'Devil King' Dekir Azaroth was defeated."
"What is a 'Devil King' you ask?"
"Well, in the Underworld, the 'Devil King' isn't royalty, a ruler, a dictator or whatever you think the word 'king' could imply. It was simply a title given to the devil who stood above all the others at the pinnacle of the Underworld. That was Dekir Azaroth."
"Dekir had such a presence that even the most intimidating looking devils would hold their breath before him. He had striking white hair with a large streak of black to the right, flowing down to his neck. Pale, white, ghostly skin. He wore an all black robe, the opening exposing his chest. Though, all of this still couldn't come close to his most prominent feature. His glowing eyes. The right eye, a bright red and black with a very abstract pattern and his left eye, a shining white with an even more abstract pattern than the other."
"This was how the story described him but I still find it difficult actually picturing what he looked like exactly."
"Anyways, the year was 1991. Dekir's death would be the catalyst that ended the war between devils and humans."
"Cenos Azmodeus, the young patriarch of the Azmodeus Family, one of the most renown families in the Underworld, was the one who killed him. That day, he stormed Dekir's castle to kill him."
"Ah, they did describe his appearance as well. He had white hair and white eyelashes, similar to Dekir's but without any black. His skin was a caramel brown color and his eyes were a deep red. He wore a dark red and black light armor with a chest plate covering his torso."
"Something always bugged me about Cenos. Despite being only 21 at the time, he was already the leader of the biggest family. That was all we knew though. Or at least, all the story told us about him. His reasoning for why he stormed Dekir's castle or how he actually managed to kill him all remain a mystery."
"Now, Dekir wasn't alone. While I'm certain the Devil King didn't need protection, he did always have this person by his side. Rita Diabolos, a woman who abandoned her family name to follow Dekir. Also dubbed by other devils as the "Pale Flame Princess", due to her looking even more pale than Dekir and her fire based powers."
"She, too, had bright white hair and red eyes but something was unusual about her eyes. She had slightly visible X in her eyes. I have no idea what it meant but the story mentioned it so it must be important right? Another thing to point out about her. Unlike Dekir and Cenos, she bore a flower tattoo on her cheek. If I recall correctly, that's a tattoo every child of the Diabolos Family were branded with after they were born. Quite ironic that a family known for their ruthlessness are represented by a flower."
"Before you ask, no, I have no idea if every single devil had white hair'."
"Now that I think about it, there was also someone who helped Cenos. I can't remember anything about him but what I do know is that he was human. A very strong one at that."
"Anyways, I'm sure you're not here to listen to me talk about what each character looks like. You want to know more about the actual story right? The fights? The character development? Sorry to disappoint you but I unfortunately can't tell you anything else."
"What? Don't look at me like that, I didn't say this story was any good. In fact, one of the main reasons no one talks about it is because the story lacked so many details. Like whoever made this was in a rush to simply just get it out and forgot to actually make the rest of the story. The weirder part is how there seems to be much thought put into the characters looks and backgrounds but that's it."
"Well, what I can tell you is what happened after the fight. After Dekir died, a global event happened where we lost our memories of these devils. And thus… the war would end and we all lived happily ever after."
"Are you kidding me…? That's it?!"
In a corner at a small bar, a blonde, tough looking man slammed his hands on the table.
"So what even happened after everything?? How did humans even fight these devils for centuries?? Did we have superpowers or something?? How did this war even start?? Wouldn't the devils still attack us even if we lost our memories of them??"
The brunette man in glasses across from him sighed while adjusting them.
"Like I said. No idea. That's where the story ends and many questions about it were left unanswered. You can clearly see why no one cares about it. How did you even hear of it anyway?"
"Random internet forum. Small group of conspiracy theorists were making a big deal of it but I couldn't find it anywhere. That's why I came to you, our resident bookworm."
The man in glasses chuckled.
"I see… So what do you think now that you've learned about the story?"
"That listening to this crap was a giant waste of time. It's just a buncha' bums online shoving their brains in their ass and yappin' about bullshit."
The man in glasses shifted the tone of his voice.
"Would you ever entertain the idea that these devils are real…?"
The blonde man laughed historically.
"Pfffftt, hahahaha! Of course not! What kind of stupid question is that? Am I supposed to believe they exist after hearing about some trash ass book?"
…
"Wait… don't tell me YOU think they exist?"
"Hmm, maybe. Who's to say they don't?"
"What I say is that you're high on something."
The man in glasses laughed and stood up from his seat.
"Anyways, it's getting late isn't it. I better start heading home. Same time tomorrow?"
"Yeah, I'll see ya."
The man in glasses left the bar and walked out into the dimly lit street of the small corner in the city. The moon shined brightly down the street as people moved about their night. Some sitting on a bench nearby. Some walking with their children. Others standing by, waiting for a taxi.
The man in glasses stopped walking and took in a deep breath of the night air.
"(Nice night out... People going about their lives. The air is, well, decent. It's peaceful. Something about this stillness is… unsettling though. Like a calm before a sudden storm…)"
"(The Hollow Crown, huh… A book simply chalked up to being a terribly written story. Normally, I'd toss something like this to the side but what really doesn't sit right with me is the fact that the author and publisher are completely unknown. You can't find anything on its origins or who made it.)"
"(Well, no use thinking about this now. I have sleep awaiting me.)
The man in glasses departed into the night road.