Meanwhile, in the dimension known as the Veil :
White Charon and Black Charon both sat down, back to back. The sky was pitch black and the ground was blinding white.
"You know, I've been expecting that kid ever since" White said, a hint of dissapointment in his voice.
"He can never come back" Black said with disdain.
"I try to see the positive of everything. It's in my nature" White replied, sighing helplessly.
Suddenly, they both sensed a ripple in space. As if that wasn't enough, the also sensed a familiar ancient and domineering power!
' CHAOS?! ' They both shot up to their feet and looked at the direction of the spatial ripple.
"Uh....Hi?" Tony said, scratching the back of his head. He could sense their surprise and hostility.
"Tony?" Black cried out. He was more surprised than his colleague. The faint aura that Tony was exuding was similar to that of his master!
Tony on the other hand was extremely uneasy. Ever since he became an undead, his senses had reached a whole new level. He could sense the emotions of people. He could also roughly estimate the strength of someone. He and the Mythic tier bat were on the same level. But that was just because the Bat was holding back. Now, he could sense that these two entities before him only needed a thought to obilerate him.
"You've changed..." White said as he moved closer to examine Tony.
"OH! You can tell?"
"You're an undead aren't you?" Black asked. He was like an excited teenage girl.
Tony nodded. In his view, these two were the best to tutor him about the underworld and his powers.
"An undead that wields dark Chaos?" White said as he clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.
For a moment, Tony could sense disdain oozing out from White. And he unconsciously took several steps back.
"TSK!" Black glared at White.
White just raised his hands helplessly as if he surrendered.
"Tony what happened?" Black asked. Although he was trying to act collected and mature, his true emotions could not hide from Tony.
Tony went ahead to explain how he became an undead after his first visit to the Veil and how his overall strength speed and senses had improved, along with his super regenerative ability.
"Hm....So that's how it is"Black sighed. According to what he knew, Tony's true ancestral genes were awakened after coming in contact with him. Normally, demons were born in the underworld where they would be nutured by the energies of the underworld. But this one was born in the human world and had stayed there for too long. As for why White was angry, it was because there were two progenators of Chaos energy. The ancestors of the universe. All Mighty, the progenator of white Chaos and the supreme ancestor of all the celestials and the angels. And there was Lord Lucifer, the progenator of dark Chaos and the supreme ancestor of all demons. Demons however were divided into ranks according to their birth. Highborns were the direct descendants of Lord Lucifer. Lord Lucifer had three direct descendants, his children. Lucianos the wicked, Lucius the cunning and Lucia the destroyer. Apart from Lord Lucifer, these three were the strongest demons of all time. They were so strong that they weren't even considered demons any more. The were considered gods. Lucianos and Lucius were both wielders of Chaos and the fathers of all the new generation undead which were the Vampires, Liches and co , although they weren't undead themselves. Lucia on the other hand was an undead who wielded the element of destruction. The main difference between an undead and a normal demon was that an undead had an almost unlimited growth. As long as their bodies can handle it, the more people they kill, the stronger they become. In other words, the more souls they consumed the more powerful they become. White was an ordinary angel cursed to be a guide to all those who transcend and are worthy of going to the celestial realm, while Black was a demon whose job was to guide the souls of the dead to the underworld. Although none of them were undead, they both wielded white Chaos and Dark Chaos repectively.
He explained all this to Tony.
"okay....So I am...?" he asked, squinting his eyes.
"A highborn. Not an original Highborn, but a son of a Highborn. Who's your father?" Black explained.
"I never met my dad...." Tony said as his mood immediatly plunged.
"A-and your mother?" Black subtly asked.
"She died when I was 7" his mood became even more gloomy.
Black swallowed. ' this is why I never had kids '
According to what Black had explained, Tony now understood why white was upset. Chaos was a very rare element and it had two kinds. The white Chaos and the dark Chaos. In the Celestial realm, there were only two wielders of white Chaos and none of them was an undead. But the underworld now had three wielders of Chaos with Tony being an undead. The balance they once had had been tipped.
"Why...? Is there a war or something?" Tony asked, as three of them sat down cross legged, White still pouting.
"Long ago, our respective masters had a battle. And the space that they had created, which is the Universe was on the verge of collapsing. So they called a temporary truce to repair the Universe and gather their respective forces. After that, they created a neutral force. The Gods. The Gods served neither of them, and they were responsible for keeping their subordinates in check. After that, they both vanished. At first, it was assumed that they went somewhere else to conclude their battle, but after about a million years, they are yet to return. An insider in the Hall of Gods said it that the Gods had rebelled against All Mighty and Lord Lucifer and sealed them in another dimension. But before more information could be extracted, all the spies that were in the Hall of Gods were eliminated." Black explained with a downcast look.
' sealed in another dimension? ' Tony's expression shifted. But it returned back to normal. ' what are the odds? ' he just shrugged it off.
But this didn't go unnoticed by White.
"So what is this Chaos?" Tony asked.
"I'm glad you asked" Black said as he prepared to explain.
"Chaos is the origin of all elements and all abilities as humans called it. Originally, our masters fused their white Chaos and dark Chaos to form all life, all elements and thus all abilities. Some elements might have more dark Chaos in them than white Chaos, and for others, its the other way round" White explained, apparently proud of himself.
Tony and Black sighed. At least, he was back to his usual self.
"Please, teach me to wield this element" Tony said, bowing slightly. Interacting with these two had made him understand how the Celestials and Demons adress each other. Respect was of utmost importance.
"Kneel" Black said, and Tony promptly obeyed. Black then proceeded to stand behind Tony. Tony gulped. His insticts made it feel like the shadow of death was looming behind him. And the scowling White in front of him was not helping matters at all.
"Usually, according to Demon law, there are countless ranks....." Black began to explain.
Normally, due to the nature and the atmosphere of the underworld, new borns were usually born directly into ranks, depending on their talent and potential and also the overall strength of their parents. First there was the General, King, Emperor, Imperial and Lord. These were the foundational ranks. After that there was the True General, True King, True Emperor, True Imperial, and True Lord. Then there was the Sacred General, Sacred King, Sacred Emperor, Sacred Imperial and Sacred Lord. Followed by the Cursed General, Cursed King, Cursed Emperor, Cursed Imperial and Cursed Lord. Then there was the final stages or ranks. Dark General, Dark King, Dark Emperor, Dark Imperial and Dark Lord. After that was the Supreme Lord rank, but nobody but Lord Lucifer had reached this stage before.
Tony took it all in.
Apparently, it was the same ranks for the Celestial, but instead of Cursed, the use Blessed and instead of Dark, they use Light.
"Some demons are directly born into King or even Emperor rank..." Black proclaimed.
"So....uh...what rank am I in?" Tony nervously asked.
"None!" White replied bluntly.
Black just gave him a dull stare. ' and he says I'm inconsiderate '
"Oh!" Tony just stared at the ground.
Black shot White a cold glare that could freeze rain. White just shrugged.
"Usually, demons have an innate sense that could tell them the level of strength of those around them. What's yours?" Black asked, immediatly changng the topic.
Tony had already guessed this was the case. If not, they wouldn't have known what rank he was in. Or more like they wouldn't have known he was rankless.
"I guess its my instincts" he didn't want to let them know that he could sense emotions. That would be his own secret card to know how they, or how everyone around him truly felt.
"OH?" White seemed interested.
"Let's see how accurate it is....." Black said as he released his true aura. To Tony, it was like ghosts from hell had emerged to choke him to death.
White scoffed and released his own aura too. For a moment Tony felt like sharp light had washed his soul and all his sins were revealed and the guilt turned to swords that were now stabbing his heart.
Black attempted to help, but to Tony he was only making matters worse. Both of their aura's clashed together and Tony who was in the middle was drenched in cold sweat with his eyes wide open. ' is this hell? ' he thought.
"You'll only become a worthy warrior by experiencing battle and gathering experience!" White called out.
Black was taken aback by this. Was White actually training Tony? Although this wasn't real battle, this would help Tony work more effectively under pressure and fear.
"Tell us what our ranks are!" Black's voice boomed as his aura surged.
' this isn't the time to be scared ' Tony said as he calmed himself down. Although these guys were strong, he had to admit that being pressured by their auras alone was embarrasing. ' I have to get strong quickly so I can face them! ' he thought as his resolve solidified. He took in a deep breath and a surge of information entered his mind. And his face twisted in shock.
"SACRED IMPERIAL!' He screamed. According to what Black had explained, advancing to any rank was not something that was easy. But undeads had an advantage over ordinary demons. The more they killed, the stronger they became. Tony's resolve became even stronger. ' I'll kill! I'll kill to get stronger! '
Both of their aura's retracted.
"It's pretty accurate..." White mumbled.
"As expected!" Black was elated. In his view, the offspring of one of the great Highborns were unrivalled in terms of talent.
"Now...." Black said as he moved closer to Tony who was kneeling. "Remember this feeling" He placed his hands on Tony's back and poured a small amount of Chaos energy into his body. At first Tony began to convulse slightly, but he soon got used to the feeling of the Chaos coursing through his veins, and then his whole body.
"Circulate it...." Black said as he slowly let go. Tony circulated the ball of energy. Then he changed it into a stream that flowed across his body. He then attempted to manifest it outside his body. But....
"AH!"
"Careful. You still don't have a strong enough body to use Chaos." Black said. As Tony released just a sliver of Chaos energy, it had burned his skin. But luckily, it had began to heal.
"But how am I supposed to control it?" Tony asked.
"You can start now, but you see the result. It will eat at your skin. First you'll have to breakthrough and have a demon body strong enough to control the Chaos and then slowly modify your body according to the amount of Chaos energy you have and according to your style ofcourse. I recommend the King or Emperor rank" Black said as he raised his sleeve. His arm was bony like that of a skeleton, but it seemed to be wrapped with a pitch black skin. The same was for White, but his was white and slightly glowing.
"I see...." Tony said. "All I have to do is breakthrough to the King rank, huh?" he asked.
White just scoffed and didn't hide his disbelief.
"It's not that easy kid" Black said.
"Breaking through is only possible through hardship and battle and comprehension and....." he paused, with an incredolous look on his face.
Tony had already turned his back and was meditating.
' ok...it shouldn't be that hard right? ' Tony said as he sat cross-legged as he comprehended and circulated the Chaos in his body.
"TSK! He's wasting his time!" White said.
"I thought it was in your nature to look at the bright side of things?" Black jeered.
"HMPH!" White folded his arms and turned around. Black just shook his head. It was hard to imagine that White was over 500 years old.
A few hours later, a surge of energy bursted out from Tony's body.