71 Seeker of Control

"Why... again...?" Riyku murmured once more. He could hear muffled voices from all around him. Although he ignored them.

"Why am I to suffer...?" Riyku would hold himself tighter.

"Why am I so weak...?" Riyku would continue.

"Everything is my fault..."

"Only if I had not left..."

"Only if I had not risen against him..."

"Only if I had not fought back..."

"Only if I had stayed away..."

"Only if I had never meant them..."

"Only if I had never been brought here..."

"Only if I had never existed..."

Despair started to fill Riyku. He began to regret everything. The Only Ifs filled him, and his mind went on to believe that maybe everything would have been better if he was never born. The more he delved into Despair, the less he heard the outside voices.

Silence.

Nothing spoke. No one said a word. It was complete silence. Although, the silence that seemed to have lasted an eternity was interrupted by a voice filled with ambition, filled with determination, filled with desire.

"Unfair, isn't it?"

"No matter what you do. No matter how much you train. No matter how strong you become. You always lose. Is it Fate? Maybe even Destiny? Perhaps your story is already predetermined. Suffering is all you will ever know."

"Quite unfair, is it not?"

Riyku did not seem to react. His empty eyes only stared at the darkness of his core.

"It is not your fault, though."

Riyku's ears twitched to this statement.

"You did not get them killed."

"You were put up against something you were not prepared for. With so little time and so little knowledge. It only makes sense this would be the outcome."

Riyku slowly rose his head from his core. "What am I to do?" He mumbled.

"What do you desire?" The voice called back.

"Desire..." Riyku murmured.

"...."

"...."

"...."

Silence with thought. Riyku was thinking. What did he desire? More power? More strength? Revenge? Retribution? No... what would any of that do? None of that could bring anyone back. The deeds had been done. What Riyku desired was...

"Total... Control..."

"Excellent." The voice would remark, a black wisp reflected off Riyku's dull eyes before seeming to enter into his body. His skin started to shift from violet to black. Spreading out from the core of his body like some kind of virus.

That had been the moment Hawk's blade bounced off thin air for the first time. The events that transpired after the first strike followed like before. Leading up to when the voice spoke...

"He desires it."

Hawk jumped back on instinct. Something was telling him to run away, to get out of there. Beads of sweat were starting to form along his body simply based on the mist that seemed to swirl around Riyku. It held the stench of death. So heavy that his nose had wrinkled. It was as if he had been on a battlefield where some kind of war had just taken place, and all that was left was rot.

"It saddens me that a pure soul has so much corruption attached to it... The purity of this soul... is slowly twisted..." Riyku(?) would comment. His eyes gazing towards Hawk. The eyes that Hawk saw made his body tremble. He unconsciously took a step back out of fear. "W-W-Who are you!?" Hawk shouted with a trembling voice. He already knew the answer, though. He had felt this kind of pressure already. He had his doubts back then, but now... when so much pressure was behind thrown at him in with full force, he was unable to doubt. It was a reality.

"The Shadow King." Riyku(?) would graciously reply to Hawk's question. Hawk had gulped heavily. He was witness it after all—the reincarnation of The Shadow King. Parts of Riyku's flesh were slowly shifting into a pitch-black coloration. Those eyes of his were not the only thing. If only Hawk had no seen those eyes, then maybe... Just maybe he could have been able to escape.

"I am curious about something, though. So enlighten me; why did you kill your lover and daughter, Krowth Burning Ash." The Shadow King would inquire, his voice had become cold... no, actually, it was always cold. It only became colder. More distant, and held with disdain. Hawk would grit his teeth before shouting aloud like some kind of madman. "How the hell do you know that name!? How the hell do you know who I am!? Just what are you!?"

This outburst was rewarded with a chuckle. "Are you truly that clueless? For an Overlord to know nothing... Oh, how the standards have changed since I devoured Hades and Lucifer... It is almost saddening. Shall I tell you? Do you truly wish to know? I mean, the answer is all around you, Krowth." The Shadow King would remark, a smirk curving across his lips in such a malicious manner that it made even Skeith's sinister grin look like a cheery child.

Hawk would growl and charge at The Shadow King. "Foolish." The Shadow King would remark, and without even lifting a finger, his shadow countered Hawk's initial strike. Hawk's grip on his blade was already lost thanks to his composure, so his sword went flying elsewhere. The shadow would counterattack by thrusting a tendril through Hawk's chest. Slowly wiggling and worming its way around inside of his body, which made him groan and gag in pain while struggling to pull the tendril out as best he could. He would continuously use his Overlord Skill to force The Shadow King to choke on Burning Ash, but his efforts were in vain. No matter how much his eyes flared and how much he struggled, Hawk was unable to break free.

"Your power is unique. The ability to create ash from oxygen is interesting. The fact that you can ignite it while it is inside the lungs of another and thus burn them from the inside out is quite thrilling as well. I think I will be taking your power. It may prove useful in the future." The Shadow King would comment while sauntering towards Hawk. "Did you know, the Four Shadow Queens each have their own unique ability that even I can never come into possession of?" The Shadow King would bring the right-hand claw back before plunging it into Hawk's chest and taking hold of his heart. "Empower, Degrade, Seal, and lastly... Steal." Hawk's body started to shrivel up like a tiny grape until nothing was left.

"Even with Total Control, I can never manipulate those four. No matter how much I want. However... if I use the host as an outlet... I can easily use their abilities... Isn't that right, Seraphina?" The Shadow King would snicker as he dropped the corpse of Hawk on the ground. The tendril of shadow removed itself from Hawk and returned to him. No reply seemed to come forth, which made The Shadow King shake his head and shrug. "Well, no matter... I am merely borrowing this body. Taking it over was never my intention. Your precious host is asleep. His soul is unharmed. He will know nothing of what transpired here. Only that I have given him all that I have. So rest easy, Seraphina." Walking out of the cell with those words, the wispy aura started to fade out. The complexion of skin slowly reverting back to its violet coloration, and when the transformation had been finalized, Riyku would pass out.

When Riyku finally woke, he found himself in a pitch of darkness. He was sitting against a wall with his arms hung up by shackles and his legs spread out by chains. He was confused. Unsure of how he even got there and begun to struggle. The rattling of the shackles echoed inside of the black pit he was in. A few moments passed and he recalled that he had chased after Astrid and Astraia in order to save them. He had taken down countless guardsmen in his wake and when he found them... he remembered he had fallen. After that, he recalled nothing.

"Finally awake, huh?" A sinister voice peered through Riyku's mind.

"Skeith..." Riyku muttered. "What happened?" Riyku would follow up with a question. The light in his eyes had vanished. Dull and void of hope.

"Not sure. I remember we got to the dungeon then you seemed to go cold. After that, I blacked out. I only woke just a few moments ago. It would appear we are in solitary confinement. A place fit for those who abuse their power and wreak havoc all across the Underworld. Every Netherworld has one. So I would assume we are still on Crimson Ash." Skeith would explain.

A pity laugh came from Riyku. "Solitary confinement? In the Underworld? What a joke." Riyku would mutter. His voice was completely filled with disdain. Skeith would muse with an 'mmmm' before giving his own two-cents on the matter. "I am inclined to agree. So shall we leave?" Skeith would comment with a smirk if anyone could see it.

"Is there any point?" Riyku would inquire, his eyes focused on what was before him which was pitch black.

"Perhaps, perhaps not. Astrid and Astraia are dead, and you are in this place. Are you okay with that?" Skeith would reply with a question of his own.

A heavy sigh would part Riyku's lips, "Of course not. However, I see no point in struggling any longer. There is nothing left for me." Riyku would reply.

"That is where you are wrong, Riyku." Skeith would remark which seemed to cause Riyku's brow to raise. "I am?"

"Yes. The Underworld could be yours for the taking. Do you not find it unfair that you are the one being punished while others continue to fulfill their everlasting desires. Do you not find it unfair that only you are to suffer like this? To be trapped in this place?" Skeith would go on.

"Does it matter? Even if I am the only one, what can I do? Sure it is unfair, but there is nothing I can do. Even if I could the same thing would only happen again." Riyku would retort.

"That is where you are wrong. Do you not find it strange that we do not remember anything? I can feel something new inside of us. A new power. A growing power. Urging to be released, wanting to be unleashed. I had felt this same presence once before as well. It was when you were fighting against Hawk." Skeith would comment.

Riyku slowly started to recall the events when he first encountered Hawk. The voice that called out to him, the voice that showed him his power. He had somewhat forgotten about it and that power after he used it. Be it mental exhaustion or something else. He had only just now remembered...

"My Overlord Skill...." Riyku would mutter. A shimmer of light started to rise in his eyes.

"Exactly." Skeith would agree.

"With that, you can take over the entire Underworld. No one could stop you. You could force everything and every one to obey your every will." With the way, Skeith spoke it came out sinister, and it was supposed to sound like that.

"I can protect everyone. I can keep everyone safe. No longer will anyone suffer because of me. No longer will anyone be hurt..." The way Riyku put it would have made it sound elegant if it did not sound so disturbing.

Thoughts started to surface in Riyku's mind. Ways to bring everything under his rule. Ways to keep everyone safe. It was different from what Skeith envisioned. Different by a large scale. Skeith was thinking of war and sex. A demon's dream. A demon's desire. Riyku on the other hand was thinking of total control. Obey or Die. Both were dangerous, but it was unsure of which was worse. On one hand, there would be sex and bloodshed, on the other hand, there would be eternal peace, but at what cost?