What comes after death?
Nothingness?
Serenity?
Oblivion?
No one knew the definite answer, there were a thousand different theories and at this moment, a certain human saw himself caught up in one of those crazy theories that he was told as a kid.
Blink!
He blinked his eyes open to see himself walking across a long bridge.
He had a neutral look on his face as he observed his surroundings with a strange curiosity. This massive bridge was illuminated by a bright white light.
Despite its ridiculous size, it was filled with souls of numerous races.
There were humans mixed in-between these marching souls.
There were Tigermen, Leopardmen, Lizardmen, Skyrim, tiny souls that looked crystalline in nature, and even some souls that seemed like energy beings.
There were all kinds of souls here.
As he looked, he was surprised as he saw a face among the few humans closer to him. This was his first time feeling emotion since coming here but since he could not understand it, he ignored it and kept on observing around curiously.
Another thing that he noticed was that they were all interconnected by a long chain. And at their very front floated 5 beings with wings.
They didn't look menacing, they looked like the gentlest of angels.
At this moment, these 5 beings led them on the journey through the bridge.
This human didn't know the reason why he was here, his consciousness was birthed at the moment he came to this bridge, he was literally a child here.
Like the others, he followed the crowd without complaints or any questions, marching across the great bridge that seemed to stretch till infinity.
He didn't know how long they were marching already but they all seemed to have inexhaustible energy as they kept on marching without pause.
After what felt like an incredibly long amount of time, they came before a gate, a massive black gate filled with magical runes.
Standing before this gate was a gigantic Black Hound with 3 heads of different colors. The middle head being black, the left head was red and seemed like an erupting volcano, while the right head was green and dripping with sizzling drool.
He looked curiously at this strange beast.
The gigantic 3-headed Black Hound watched them attentively as they came, then it grinned the next moment as it took a step forward.
"3 Adaat Alfarah". Its voice was deep like growling thunder as its red volcano head glared at the man.
It's green head that dripped with sizzling drool glared at a girl that was a mixture of a Jaguar and a human at the far-end of the bridge, while it's black head glared at a monk with silver skin at the middle of the bridge.
"Adaat Alfarah". The next moment, a black energy acted on them, dragging them closer to the 3-headed Hound who licked his lips excitedly.
Throughout all this, the man felt no emotion, he couldn't feel any.
It was at this moment that the 5 winged beings finally moved. Flying closer to the gate, the 5 winged beings touched it in tandem.
The next moment, power flowed into the gate as it glowed before revealing a blue portal. The numerous souls finally resumed their march.
Once they entered the portal, they disappeared.
The 3-Headed Hound shoved the 3 special souls into the portal.
Bzzz!
They disappeared.
…
"Arggh…!" Pain woke him up.
Opening his eyes, the first thing he felt was fear due to the pain.
"Arggh!" He cried in pain.
Looking around, he was shocked. He was no longer in a white brightly illuminated world like during the long journey through the bridge, he was now in a world filled with flowing fire and molten rock everywhere.
He was trapped in what seemed like a small island in this fire world.
At this moment, sickles pierced through his legs and hands which were attached to 2 rocks. As his blood dripped, it sizzled as it was burnt.
The pain was stinging.
Perhaps, it was the pain, but it made him remember vocabulary.
"W-Where am I?"
"What is this?"
Clang!
His attention was attracted by the clanging of blades.
Looking, he saw a man with horns. No! It was a Demon with horns.
Almost 2 times taller than him, this buff demon with scaly black skin, 2 sharp horns and fangs turned to look at him as soon as his attention was drawn.
Right ahead of the Demon was a table, it was the table where he picked the twin blades from. On top the table were all manner of tools and weapons, some sharp while others blunt to be used for impact damage.
He opened his stony lips and flashed an eerie smile at him, revealing his pointed row of teeth that seemed to be forged from a furnace.
"Welcome to the Underworld".
"The batch this time contained 3 Adaat Alfarath…" He raised one of his red blades, licking it as instead of blood, lava flowed from the wound. "Exciting!"
The human's eyes widened in horror as he looked at him. "Who are you?"
"Me?" He grinned. "I am a Demon created by the All Father".
"You see? I have a habit of telling all my Adaat Alfarath much knowledge about the underworld before torturing them, it's because you all deserve it".
"I'm not gonna lie though, it also gives me pleasure".
"Of this batch, you and those 2 miserable bums are the best specimen. The others don't have the power to withstand torture from me, their soul may dissipate into nothingness which is something that the All Father hates".
"It's souls of your caliber that really brings the pleasure".
"You guys never fold, it's always so compact, the perfect Adaat Alfarath".
Clang!
Hitting the blades together again, he walked closer to the human. "The Underworld is the Universal Treasure of the All Father, the Demonification Mage".
"This tiny underworld is an offshoot created by the Universal Treasure".
"Demon Master Zorgoth was assigned as the leader of this underworld".
"I am the Demon Master's strongest Asura". He grinned malevolently.
"Our job is to transport more souls that have enough super energy to the All-Father's Underworld, providing him with an endless supply of warriors for his Undying Soul Army".
"It's boring work, really".
"That's why I cherish opportunities to get rare specimens like you".
"You make my work become much less boring".
Clang!
He clapped the blades together again, causing the human to shudder, he sniffed. "Can you please spare me? I did nothing, please!"
"Spare you?" He looked amused.
"This is not a charity; this is the underworld".
"Not protecting your soul from being stolen after death is your fault. The Underworld is your prison, you can't escape".
"What's the sentence?"
The Demon Asura grinned. "For life".
"…" The man was gripped by fear and horror.
Gathering energy in his right arm, the Demon stabbed one of the blades forward as without obstruction, it pierced into the stomach of the chained soul.
"Arghhhh…!!!" The human screamed in pain.
"Hahahaha…, the sweet sound of your scream gives me adrenaline".
"It's my drug and music, few sounds beat it".
"Perhaps, hip hop?"
BAM!
"Argghh…!" The human roared in pain as his head was stabbed, his brain juice was exposed as the fire scorched it, causing him to jerk in pain like a mad man.
"You know the best part of it all?"
"Once the All Father catches your soul, you can't die which means I can utilize all my creative juices".
"Ahh! This is Paradise!"
BAM!
"Ugh…!" The human growled and grunted in unimaginable pain.
"I get to enjoy you till the Demon Master comes for inspection and guessing from how lazy he is, I think that'll be a few centuries later".
"Hehehe…, thank you human".
BAM!
The human screamed till his voice was hoarse yet it healed miraculously, allowing him to keep up the tempo of screaming at the top of his voice.
He didn't know how long he was already suffering for, but after some time, he no longer felt any pain. He started feeling other emotions for the first time as the sensation of pain resonated so much with him.
He seemed to have experienced this feeling a lot before coming here.
From pain, despair and hopelessness set in.
These negative emotions bubbled on with time, gaining momentum until they hit a peak, then his eyes suddenly widened as a scene flashed in his head.
He saw himself hit by a gigantic tail.
[YOU DIED!]
The pain was unimaginable, it was even worse than what he felt now.
The feeling of despair and hopelessness, he finally knew why they felt so familiar. It was because he had experienced them before.
'What is this?'
As soon as he asked even as he kept on being tortured, suddenly, in his vision, something like a screen popped to life.
-----
[Main Storyline Grade A Mission: The Cataclysm; Rise of the Bug Emperor has come to a temporal end!]
[Main Mission: Contribute massively and kill the Bug Conqueror failed!]
…
[Hidden Mission Requirement Completed: Odds Breaker!]
[Despite the incredible odds against you, you managed to break all conventions, organizing a force that was able to almost kill the Bug Conqueror!]
[This is recognized as a legendary achievement!]
[You have been rewarded with Special Coupon: Underworld Coupon!]
>Underworld Coupon: You have recovered your memories, you have retrieved your Summoner energy, and you have unlocked Underworld energy!<
[Bonuses of Underworld Energy:]
>You can now tame and contract Underworld Demons
>You now have the ability to practice Demonic Magic
>You can now absorb the energy of high-level Demons
…
[Your Summoner Main Class has mutated!]
[You are now a Demi-God Magic Summoner!]
[You have unlocked Demi-God Magic Summoner Abilities: Underworld Summoning; Demonification Magic!]
>Underworld Summoning: When activated, a random portal is opened to the Universal Treasure, Underworld, summoning Demons of random levels who will recognize you as an ally<
>100% chance to summon Grade E to D Underworld Demons
>50% chance to summon Grade C Underworld Demon
>8% chance to summon Grade B Underworld Demon
>2% chance to summon Grade A Underworld Demon
>0.000000008% chance to summon Beyond Grade A Underworld Demon
…
>Demonification Magic: When activated, you can turn yourself into a Demon, granting massive increase to Strength and Vitality stats. You also gain the privilege of the Demon Asuras by gaining temporary Underworld Mana Access<
…
[You have triggered New Mission: Escape from Hell!]
[Mission Details: You still have a chance to win the battle. Use your brain to piece the puzzles, go back in time and escape the hell of the Underworld!]
[Mission Reward: ?]
----
BAM!
The Demon Asura stabbed him again but Legolas no longer screamed in pain.
With eyes staring into space, he regained all his memories.
'So, we lost in the end? No wonder'.
'And now that I think of it, that human soul I saw the other time that made me feel surprise is Daemon. He was also brought here'.
'Also, those 2 classified as Adaat Alfarath are also Grade B souls'.
BAM!
The Demon Asura stabbed him again. "Huh? Why did you stop screaming?"
"…" Silence reigned for a few seconds.
Then, Legolas looked at him, and this time, his eyes had an ominous glint to it.