Chapter Thirty-Nine: Birth of An Abyssal Demon.
Apex drove to the accident scene, his heart breaking piece by piece as his soul was shrouded amid regret and sorrow.
"Death. Death. Why are you so cruel?" He kept on muttering, a bitter smile twisting his lips and tears flowed from his eyes.
It wasn't long before Apex arrived at the site. Blood, flames, and destroyed cars gave hail to the scene of death and destruction.
Pushing his way through the crowd of fire fighters and UE cops, he sighted a familiar black GHE. Two bloodied corpses lay inside the squeezed car.
The white, ceremonial clothes they wore were now dyed crimson as though a deep reflection of the cruelness of reality.
However, before Apex could cross to their location, he was pulled back by the cops, who kept informing him to stay away from the area as they secured the scene with their meticulous devices.
Apex fought back, the haze of sorrow blinding his reasoning. Even so, he was pushed back and kept at bay as anguish clouded his soul.
Cars drove into the scene as his newly wedded wife held his hands, comforting him.
"It's OK; in this life, people tend to leave and go to a better place. Wherever your parents are, they'll be happy to see you living well." She knelt beside him.
"It's all my fault, it's all–my–fault." He choked between his sobs.
Even when Apex returned home, he just cried to himself all night. A night that was supposed to be his most memorable became one of grief.
Some years later, Apex was anticipating his wife's fifth childbirth in the hospital. She had given birth four previous times but the children all passed away.
Apex was anxious and kept on praying until the news reached him that his wife had given birth to twins reached his ears.
Happiness clouded his senses for a few moments before he reacted. Apex immediately started driving to the hospital since he had previously gone to get some things asked of by the hospital.
However, on his way, he received a call from his boss, asking him to return the files that he had forgotten to hand out when he took leave from work.
So, Apex asked his butler to bring his wife and newly born children home as he went to return the files with him.
Later that day, news spread throughout Earth, shocking all citizens; World War Six had begun, and the Eastern division had bombed a major bridge from the southern division - where Apex stayed, killing thousands who were crossing it.
This news devastated Apex as he found out that his wife and children were also on that bridge.
The first thing that struck him was numbness, then intense resentment, anguish and the will to stop living.
Driving to the scene, he watched as the sea below the broken bridge was packed with corpses, cars, and trucks, all dyed in blood.
Tears flowed endlessly like a tide as he stared at the sky.
"Heavens, I don't hate or despise you; I just want to ask one thing. Why me?"
Apex knew he probably wasn't the only one who had lost a loved one today, but still, he didn't even see his children before they were taken away from him.
Didn't he deserve that much? Apex just stood there, crying for hours.
After that, he isolated himself from society and people. He just lived on his own, in solitude as the world raged on with war.
Even the mythologies that once gave him joy were nothing to him now. Novels were all part of the world and he had decided to detach himself from this Earth.
However, one day a chance came. The very squad who had blown up the bridge and killed his family attacked the area where he stayed.
The tyrant squad.
The name of the squad alone sent rage coursing through him, and without hesitation, he took explosives that he had been hiding from the authorities and charged into the battle.
Due to the intense gunfight battle between the tiger squad and the tyrant squad, the land was decimated and buildings were flattened.
The sound of gunshots and the wind being torn apart by bullets filled the area.
Citizens ran away while screaming in horror.
They all went down the street as if they wanted to escape this macabre event.
In such a situation, escaping was imperative, but Apex, who had been hit by a stray bullet, moved against the crowd, advancing towards the location where the intense clash between the two squads was happening.
In his hands was a black box on which a number countdown could be vaguely seen. He charged forward with no care for his life.
As Apex ran towards them, more and more stray bullets pierced through his flesh, but he didn't seem to care, as his furious gaze was fixed on the trucks of the tyrant squad.
Just when the number countdown on the black box reached ten, he hurled it towards the formation of vehicles with the tyrant squad names written on them.
However, before he could run back, some people from the tyrant squad fired at Apex's body, blasting hole after hole into him.
At this instant, an earth-shaking boom erupted from the location of the trucks, drowning the area in furious flames.
Even in his injured state, somehow, Apex survived and arrived at the location of the broken bridge while bleeding.
Tears flowed from his eyes as he choked.
"I did my best, Alicia; I have avenged you and our children."
He cried and cried as the rain fell, till he laid down in the ground, sobbing like a child.
Then under the cold rainfall and chilly winds, Apex, the human who had experienced the utmost sorrow of life… died.
Blood flowed from his wounds, dyeing the rocky ground red, however, it was quickly washed off by the rain as only a cold corpse remained.
The clouds hung low as they slowly dispersed, and a beam of white light fell from the sky on Apex's corpse for a brief period before vanishing.
- - -
Dusken observed this scene with a reminiscing look in his eyes. However, a cold light ran through their depths.
'That light.'
He suspected that it was what had made him reincarnate.
'Who sent down the beam?' he asked himself inwardly.
Even so, he knew that this was not the time, he needed to break out of this illusion as soon as possible.
Because everything started playing all over again. From the bullying to the marriage, the death of his parents and his ending.
It wasn't long before it had replayed more than thirty times and they were all pressing down on Dusken's soul, trying to make him feel something, hate, anger maybe.
However, he felt nothing, just tired and bored. It was then that a bitter smile played on his lips.
"You know... this won't change me." Dusken slowly shifted his gaze toward the dark sky as if searching for the one who kept him here.
"This... Love, hate," he stated, starting to walk a little bit to the left.
"Pain and happiness." His voice was deep, as he started to think about the order of the world.
"The good, the bad,... heroes and villains! You know what?" he stopped in his tracks and put one hand behind his back.
"Don't you just find all of this… meaningless?" He raised his head, having a sharp look in his eyes.
As soon as he spoke those words, the illusionary space around him started to shatter, freeing Dusken from the clutches of the illusion.
He opened his eyes and found himself standing in front of a small pond filled with black water.
A vague shadowy figure stood next to him.
"I was wrong about you." The figure spoke, its voice sounding like echoes of millions, like the depth of the ancients and after some time, it added:
"You're not a kindhearted person and also not cold either. You're just bored and tired of life, so you seek anything exciting. You have met the criteria for the inheritance of the Abyssal Devil."
The figure said in a calm tone, its shape continuously shifting like countless shadows.
'Abyssal Devil? Isn't that the brother of the god of darkness in the myths? Is this inheritance his?'
Dusken's mind raced, but before he could say a thing, the figure waved its hand, throwing him into the dark water.
Without even having the chance to scream, Dusken was submerged in it as he felt a cool sensation running through him like he was absorbing something.
Then suddenly, his soul was bombarded with a series of messages from the Calamity Codex.
[You have devoured a shadow.]
[Your Abyss within grows darker.]
[You have devoured a shadow.]
[Your Abyss within grows darker.]
[You have devoured a shadow.]
[Your Abyss within grows darker.]
…..
Dusken suddenly groaned as he clutched his chest, veins bulging on his forehead.
[You have received a bloodline true inheritance.]
[Your talent has evolved.]
[New Talent: Abyssal Demon.]
[Talent Rank: Celestial]
As soon as Dusken received this message; a resounding boom erupted as the inheritance collapsed with him at its centre.
***
Far away in the real world, beyond the trial that Dusken faced.
It was a snowy plain, covered in ice and blanketed by snow. No human or lifeforms could survive in this place, so it was desolate.
However, from within a blizzard rampaging in the area, the silhouette of a human could be seen.
He sat crossed-legged with closed eyes while comprehending the profundities of this plain.
Suddenly, his eyes shot open as he stared into the distance; his gaze seemed to peer through space and time, glancing at something unseeable.
If anyone were to see this man, they would recognize him. Theodore, the very first human to ever reach the Mythical rank.
One of the strongest human on Earth, the dragon exterminator, and the recognized most powerful time expert in the world.
"Ah!" Theodore said, his voice hoarse while shaking his head. "The world is in turmoil, suffering shall begin, for the Abyssal Demon has been born."
A laughter rang out in the surroundings.