The Depra King

This morning too, I was planning on skipping, but much to my horror, I heard the front door open, and two voices chatting amicably together.

"Aw, thanks a bunch! I didn"t realize he had an extra key you guys have!"

"Not a problem. You can keep it too; in case he tries to pull this c.r.a.p again."

Ugh, what the h.e.l.l? "Pandora and Lachesis?"

"Oh, I heard his voice. Yoo-hoo, your favorite gal is here to play! Is Depra in town?" A couple of footsteps, and I hid underneath my covers right as my door opened.

"Oh, trying to play hooky?" She ripped the covers off the bed, leaving me out in the dark, cruel world.

I opened up one eye to see a smile on Pandora"s face. "Good morning sleepyhead!"

"Why are you here?"

"To make sure you don"t fail senior year due to attendance," Lachesis said, walking in after Pandora. "I gave her my key, so now if you ever feel the need to try to skip, she"ll handle it."

G.o.d d.a.m.nit. I could feel Pandora poking at my face playfully, and I let out a sigh.

"Fine, I"m up already, you hear me?" I sat up, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, glaring at the two girls responsible for ruining my morning before letting out a loud yawn.

"Great, you better be outside in 20 minutes, otherwise we"ll be late!" Pandora turned away from me before nodding at Lachesis. "Thanks again for the help!"

"Not at all. And if ever really have trouble, my mom is always next door, so she"ll lend you a hand. Anyway, I have to go now, but I"ll see you at school Depra."

The two girls walked out, and I let out another sigh. I hate early mornings.

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"Glad you"re with me this morning partner!"

Pandora and I were walking to school now, the shade highlighting her the purple in her hair. Honestly, I couldn"t tell you if her hair was real or not to be honest.

"You"re staring at my hair again," Pandora commented, leaning to get a look into my face.

I scowled, rolling my eyes. "It"s orange in the sun, purple in the shade and at night, and everything between during all other times. Basically, it"s cool."

"I bet you were thinking it"s fake."

"It would be the weirdest natural hair color I"ve seen if it is real," I said, and she nodded in agreement.

"Well, it"s very much real, and I"m glad you like it so much." She stopped leaning and started to smile to herself, almost a skip in her step. "You know, I never realized this since you slouch all the time, but you"re quite tall, aren"t you?"

Huh? "Am I really? I"m not even 6ft you know. I"m 5"8."

"When was the last time you checked your height Depra?"

I frowned, scratching my cheek. "The last time I went to the doctor I think."

"And when was that?"

"Um, maybe a year and half ago? Maybe two years?"

"And you"re saying you haven"t grown at all?"

c.r.a.p, she has a point. I"m about as tall as Hiro, so how tall is he? I think he said he was…

I stopped, the realization dawning onto me. Pandora turned around, tilting her head inquisitively as she put her hair behind her ear.

"I"m 6 ft tall…" Pandora started to laugh.

"I figured as much. No way you"re that short." She walked to me, looking at me strangely. "It seems I have to tiptoe to reach you, huh?"

Eh? "Um, what"s that supposed to mean?" I was once again caught in her regal purple eyes, as if they had taken ahold of me and wouldn"t let go.

"Hmm, I wonder indeed," she said, whispering it to me, her gaze starting to make my head fuzzy.

"BACK STRAIGHT, EYES FORWARD!"

"OOF!"

I got sent tumbling forward, landing flat on my face. "d.a.m.n you Aether, what the h.e.l.l was that for!?" I turned to look behind me, but it wasn"t Aether, but instead it was Hiro walking by himself.

"Yo. I heard what Aether taught you, so I decided to give you a helping hand." He started to laugh, and it was then I noticed Pandora to his side frowning at the whole situation.

"How did I not fall?"

"That"s a Hiro secret." Ugh, I couldn"t tell if he said his name or hero then. "Anyway, you two will be late at this rate you know?" He offered me his hand.

"I wasn"t even planning on coming, but no, they had to come ruin my day." I groaned as I accepted his hand, pulling me up with relative ease.

"Well, it"s fine. By the way, where did she go?" Hiro asked, scanning the area.

"Who, Pandora?" I looked around but couldn"t see her anywhere. Wait, how was that even possible to begin with?

Hiro just simply nodded to himself. "Nah, it"s fine. She knows it"s bros before hoes after all."

Ah yes, he does like saying that. "Why are you alone? Where"s Luna?"

"Oh, she goes with her friends most days, since I wake up later than her for the most part." We both started to walk, the school in the distance.

"I see. Who are her friends by the way?"

"Oh, I actually don"t know. She hasn"t introduced me, oddly enough. I mean, I"m great and all, who wouldn"t wanna know me."

"Apparently Pandora."

"Oof, right to the heart! A critical hit!" He started to clutch his chest, crying out in pretend pain.

I let out a small smile. "You"re ridiculous."

"Agh, the insults keep on coming!"

Well, maybe school isn"t that bad after all.

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On second thought, it is.

"Ah yes, my dear King, I welcome to my humble abode, where naught but people like us can enter!"

Long story short, I was about to go to lunch before I got kidnapped by Erebus, who took me to a dark, empty cla.s.sroom, and that"s the gist of it.

"Why am I here?" I asked as Erebus lit up the room with candlelight.

"To help you, my dear King! You"re quite slow to make decisions, you know that?"

"What the h.e.l.l does that have to do with anything!?"

(Indecisive.)

I grit my teeth, trying to block out the voice. "Why do I even need help anyway?"

"Well, you"re on a quest for betterment, are you not?"

"Quest for betterment…? Oh, that." I honestly didn"t really think I could change, but I supposedly don"t slouch as much, although that"s due to Aether"s PTSD he caused, since after my supposed lesson, he continually burned those words into me every chance he got until recently. "Why do you care about that?"

"Because you haven"t improved at all since the man who live to crush all those beneath him, one who is a living embodiment of perfection, Aether of the sky! If anything, you"ve gotten worse King!"

Worse huh? Could I really get any worse than this?

(You are indeed at your worst, you Stupid, Indecisive, Coldhearted, Slothful, Coward.)

"But, since you probably can"t get much worse, you can finally climb the long, hard, arduous path to true change, and then you"ll be free!"

(Freedom? You know d.a.m.n well why you can"t be free. Your punishment, your curse, all of it is-!)

"I"ll teach you the freedom of decision, so you can truly start on the path you wish to partake in!"

I snapped out of my stupor at Erebus" words, panting heavily. I clutched my chest tightly, two contradicting feelings, one of possibility, the other of impossibility.

The possibility to escape my eternal d.a.m.nation. The impossibility to ever escape my curse. The possibility to escape these feelings I harbor deep within. The impossibility to rid myself of my shackles.

The impossibility that I could ever escape.

But most importantly…

"Is it really possible, for me to be free?" Asking that question meant thinking the unimaginable, but the answer to that would mean something so much more.

Erebus gave me a wicked grin. "Freedom awaits all those seek it. It will never deny a seeker."

I let out an elongated sigh, my body unable to relax after hearing his words. I don"t know if I can really gain that freedom. But, if there"s even a s...o...b..a.l.l.s chance in h.e.l.l that it"s possible.

"Then please, teach me Erebus, how to be free."

"Of course, I"ll be the one to teach you how to fight off that never-ending darkness that plagues you." And I gained my second teacher in my quest for betterment.

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My lesson, like the previous one, started as soon as school was out. We met out in one of the school courtyards, where a couple people were still hanging around.

"Well then King, let us be off on our grand quest! For you see, you shall be helping me slay one of the Demonic Commanders of h.e.l.l, Beelzebub, on this most righteous day!" He posed, using his left hand to cover his right eye while pointing to the sky with his free hand. "With the power I"ve kept sealed within my right eye along with your own abilities, we shall triumph over any foe, no matter who gets in our way!" He pointed at me with his free hand, giving me a grin.

"And that"s a promise!"

Eh? I looked around, and I could see people trying their hardest not laugh, and I sighed. Maybe this was a bad idea. "So, what should we start off with?"

He nodded at me and started to move. "Follow me and you"ll see exactly what which we need to do! Shadow Step!" Pretending to do a move, he ran off into the school building, and I was left simply stunned.

I guess I gotta follow him, don"t I? I sighed before running after him into the building.

"First choice! You run into a couple demons, and they quickly take notice of you! If you don"t do something in the next five seconds, you"ll die! What do you do!?"

I quickly stopped in hallway, trying to locate Erebus" location. "Hey, what is this?"

I suddenly got pushed behind and fell to the ground. "Oh, looks like you weren"t quick enough, and you have now died!"

I groaned and turned around to see Erebus offering a hand. "This is your training King! You need to make snappy decisions in the midst of battle, and as you get quicker, you"ll be able to translate these skills into everyday life!"

I grabbed his hand and got back to my feet. "Can"t say I was expecting that. What can I even do in battle anyway? It"s not like I have any fighting ability."

"Just a.s.sume you can get rid of them somehow, don"t sweat the small stuff." He nodded as his blood moon colored left eye gleamed with excitement. "Now, try again! Using your imagination might help a bit."

I nodded and turned back around. I guess if I think of it as infiltrating a palace, it shouldn"t be so bad.

"Alright, you run down the hallway and are struck at crossroads, where do you go?"

I ran down the hallway, envisioning palace walls around me as I tried to reach my objective. "Left," I said quickly, and I turned left, where…!

"You find two demons chatting amongst themselves! It looks as if they haven"t noticed you yet, so what will you do King?"

"Let me see what they"re talking about to get any information, then I"ll take them both out."

"Okay, after listening to the demons, you find out that there"s a map on the second floor of the castle, and you quickly take them out before continuing up the stairs."

I ran up the steps two at a time before reaching the second floor, where on a billboard was a…!

"It"s a map," I said incredulously. There was legitimately a map here. It looked handmade, so it was probably made by Erebus, although how he knew I would come up here was an entirely different story. Nonetheless, I grabbed it and read what it had to show me.

"Okay, so it looks as if there isn"t a way to reach Beelzebub from here, since he"s on the roof, but it looks as if you need a key to get there anyway. So, what do you do?"

I sigh. d.a.m.nit, he"s not making this easy, is he? I looked back down on the map and frowned. There was a room marked down, although it didn"t say exactly for what.

"I"ll go to this marked room to see what"s there, I guess." I put the incomplete map in my pocket and sighed. Alright, here we go.

I navigated my way through the pa.s.sageways, defeating demons in whatever way I was beating them, since Erebus wouldn"t tell me. Although, it was rather strange. I could hear his voice behind me, but I couldn"t see where he was. Ah well, it"s whatever.

Anyway, I followed the map to the room that was marked, and sure enough, it was indeed marked by multiple red x"s all around the door. Again, how he managed to prepare all this beforehand is beyond me.

"It seems you"ve reached the marked room King. What do you wanna do?"

"Can I take a peek inside?"

"You can do whatever you want, it"s not like you"re limited by anything."

Oh yeah, I guess he"s right about that. I opened the door a sliver to find…!

"It seems there"s someone locked up in here. You"re able to free them, but you don"t see any sign of affiliation, so they could be an enemy. Quick, before a patrol spots you, choose!"

"Agh, um, I"ll free "em I guess," I said hastily, not too sure about my decision but sticking with it nonetheless. I swung the door open and inside there was…!

"Oh, what are you two hanging out for?"

Suddenly my immersion was gone, and I stared, blinking as the rays of positivity started to a.s.sault me.

Hemera grinned and ran up to hug me. "Oh, it"s been a while since I"ve seen you!" She let go and looked me up and down. "You seem to be worse, but better at the same time!"

"…how does that make any sense?" I grumbled, and she shrugged.

"I dunno, it just does!"

Erebus appeared next to me, frowning. "It seems the prisoner was none other than the Bringer of the Sun, She Who Brings Warmth After The Long Night, Hemera, The Daytime Beauty!"

She started to twirl her golden yellow locks, giggling to herself. "Aw, I"m really nothing special. Thanks anyway though!" She winked at Erebus, and he scowled.

"Cute that you may be, the only love for me is my wonderful Dark Empress, Necessitas, my lover in a previous life!" He shouted these words loudly, so loudly in fact that I wouldn"t be surprised if his Dark Empress heard them.

He cleared his throat before turning to me. "In any case King, it seems that we are at an impa.s.se. Unless our Lady of Warmth and Optimism knows where the key is being held, it seems we are stuck."

I scowled. "Are you serious? d.a.m.nit, I was hoping to clear it all in one run too."

"Um, I don"t know what exactly you two are up too, but if it"s a key you need, I know where to find one!" Hemera offered, waving her hand in the air excitedly.

"Oh, do you really!? Where is it located!?" Erebus exclaimed, grabbing onto Hemera"s shoulders. "Please, tell us!"

"Hey, calm down buddy. We"ll have to go outside the school for it though, if that"s alright with you two."

"King, it"s up to you. Decide now!"

Huh!? "You can"t just, you know what, never mind." I let out a sigh. "Let"s leave then to grab this key I guess."

Erebus had an almost manically grin on his face, his bloodred red eye gleaming with excitement. "Never guess King, always know."

I simply nodded at his words. "Okay Hemera, lead the way."

She gave me a thumbs up. "No problem! Just follow me!" We followed her through the school, going down the stairs into the school parking lot.

"It"ll take a while to walk there, so I"m just gonna drive us all there," she explained, skipping on the worn pavement, twirling her keys around her finger. She turned around to see the both of us and smiled. "Don"t worry, I"ll drive you two home too!"

We reached her goliath of a pickup truck, and she happily hopped into the driver"s seat. I sat in the back, while Erebus sat shotgun.

"What is our final destination going to lead us too? A fight with demons? A pack of werewolves? Vampires? Maybe even casted out G.o.ds!?"

"Nope, we"re going to the arcade!"

"I see, the arc, wait, what?" Oh wow, she managed to shock him out of his persona.

She laughed at her achievement as she started up her vehicle. "Yep, the crane game no less! There"s a key there, surprisingly enough, along with other things that could be useful, you know!" She put the truck into drive and started to drive to the arcade.

"I-I see, the arcade huh? Yes, that could work!" I couldn"t see his face, but he was probably h.e.l.la worried right now.

I wonder if we"re going to the same place Caelus took us to during soph.o.m.ore year. "Are we going to Battle Arena?"

Hemera glanced in the rearview to look at me. "Oh, you know about that place? I"ve been there back in grade school, but no, that"s not the place. It"s a lot less testosterone where we"re going."

"There"s a place called Battle Arena!? Why have I not gone there before? It"s probably a hotspot for potential people I could work with!" Erebus turned around and grabbed my hand, shaking it vigorously. "Thank you for telling me about such a place! You"ll have to take me there sometime!"

"Yeah, sure, after my lesson is over, I guess," I said, looking into his eye, filled with an almost childlike excitement, like when a kid can"t sleep before a field trip.

He nodded at me, releasing my hand. "Remember, never guess King! Always know!"

"What happens if I don"t know?"

"Then use that confidence you learned from The Man Who Controls The Heavens, Aether, to, as normies say, fake it till you make it!"

Hemera started to laugh again. "Ah, it"s always a blast with you Erebus!"

I relaxed back into my seat, looking out the window. "Fake it till you make it huh? Never thought about it like that," I murmured, watching our surroundings turn from suburbia to urban life.

"So, what sort of magnificent place is this arcade you"re taking us too? Is it filled with powerful allies, who are used to fighting against the forbidden darkness that pervades this city!?"

"You"ll see when yah get there, so stop nagging me."

"Or is it a place where the fell G.o.ds who roam this city come to congregate, casted out from their home high in the sky after they broke the Ultimate Taboo!?"

Seriously? Where does he come up with this stuff? "I"d rather not deal with fell G.o.ds today Erebus. We"re already dealing with demons after all."

"But King, don"t you know? That you"re-!"

"We"re here!" Hemera yelled out cheerfully, drowning out the last of Erebus" words. "See for yourself boys!"

Erebus quickly went outside (he didn"t buckle his seatbelt during the ride) and ran to the front of the destination. Hemera watched as he ran before looking back at me. "So, you"re coming in, right?"

Nope, is what I would normally say, but I couldn"t help but be curious. I pray this isn"t like the last time with The End of Days restaurant. "Yeah, I"m coming."

I unbuckled my seatbelt and got out the truck, sighing. I stretched upwards before focusing my eyes to the sight in front of me.

"Welcome to Pixie Palace!" Hemera exclaimed, patting me on the back.

It was almost like an explosion of pink. It was a moderate sized building, being two stories tall, with the exterior covered in varying shades of pink. Sitting on the roof was a twirling pink dis...o...b..ll, shining its rays all around the parking lot. Sitting on top of the dis...o...b..ll was a large statue of a pixie, lounging on top, with a pink crown atop her head. However, the strangest part was its lack of surroundings. The buildings nearby all looked pretty dilapidated, to the point where I was wondering if we were near the old City. The parking lot too was mostly empty as well, and the sky above had seemingly all signs of clouds in the sky, the only thing visible was the sky turning from it"s normal blue to a brilliant orange.

Honestly, what else did I expect from Hemera?

I walked up next to Erebus, who was gazing at the pixie atop the dis...o...b..ll. I couldn"t see his face, but I noticed his fists ball up before relaxing.

"Hey Daytime Beauty, you sure our key is in this place?"

"Of course it is! You"re not scared, are you?" Hemera said, poking him slightly.

"So long as I have the power of my Crimson Eye, nothing shall stand in my way! And with my two compatriots, any low chance of defeat has been turned to zilch! Come, let us be on our way!" He waved us forward, his cloak fluttering in the wind as he went to his destination.

"Hey Hemera?"

"Hmm? What"s up Depra?"

"Where"d Erebus get the cloak from?"

"Eh, I don"t really know, but he sure looked cool, didn"t he!?"

And with final exchange, we walked into the Pixie Palace, where inside there was…!

"Glitter," I said before spitting out the very thing I had just spoken about.

Glitter was raining down on us, making the entire scene feel a bit more magical. Lined everywhere were a variety of machines, the majority of them arcade games, and many people, mostly girls, were playing against one another. And while it may be strange of me to say, but I could"ve sworn I could see clouds of glitter about the size of my palm sparkling brightly, either hanging around the customers or whizzing around really fast. Oh, and the inside was pink as well. h.e.l.l, it even had pink lighting, as if they really wanted to commit to this pink theme of theirs.

Erebus once again seemed dismayed, but quickly recovered, turning around to face us, crossing his arms.

"So, where can we obtain this key of ours? Is it a prize we must gain, beating all worthy challengers in a fight to death, using our refined techniques and hand skills in order to beat them?"

"Nope!" Hemera said, cheerfully shutting Erebus down

"Of course, that has to be, wait, huh?" I was starting to feel bad for my teacher.

"Nope, what we"re looking for is upstairs! C"mon, up the stairs we go!"

Erebus nodded, unclear what else to do. I guess Hemera has her own way of keeping people in line. Who knew optimism and happiness could be so scary?

We followed Hemera to the second floor, where inside was…!

"Oh no," Erebus moaned, completely out of character at this point, and looking at the scene in front of us, I couldn"t blame him.

The second floor was entirely filled with crane machines and their many variations, with their being a giant one at the back, near where we would"ve come in downstairs. Hemera happily skipped along, leading us to, of course, the big one in the back.

She looked up at the big one, peering into the gla.s.s, trying to find what she was looking for. Erebus just stared at the behemoth of the crane game and let out a rare sigh.

"I hate these games with a pa.s.sion," he said simply, and I couldn"t agree more. Most were rigged, and this one was probably no exception.

"Aha!" She clapped her hands together, pointing up at the top. "See there? That"s the key I was talking about!" I looked up at the top and could barely see it, it was so high up.

I looked down at how much it cost and almost yelled out in shock. "10 dollars to f.u.c.king play this game!? Are you f.u.c.king for real!?"

"Yeah, it is pretty expensive, isn"t?" Hemera said, giggling to herself. Oi, how can she be so calm about this?

Erebus nodded, finally regaining his composure. "I see, so that"s what must be done!" He flipped his cloak, sending it fluttering in imaginary wind. "The cost to play this rigged game is cheap, but this is a perfect lesson for the likes of King! Therefore, he"ll pay."

"Hold up, who the h.e.l.l died and made you leader!?" I yelled out, not about to put in a ridiculous amount of money to get an item I wouldn"t even care about.

"With my crimson eye leading the way, of course I would be the designated leader! In any case, your next lesson will require precision and skill, as well as making the right decisions! Decide wrong, and you"ll be sent circling the drain!"

Hemera, nodded, grinning at me and giving me a thumbs up. "Basically, don"t screw up playing!"

These little sons of-! I stopped my thought, calming myself down. I mean, I guess I do have a lot of money huh?

(And whose fault is that?)

"Shut up," I growled, and both of my companions looked at me, confused.

"Something the matter King?"

"Yeah, what"s up?"

I sighed, rolling my eyes at the misunderstanding. "I"m fine for now, let"s just get this over with."

(Do you really think you can escape from this?)

Shut up already!

(Just because you"ve got some s.p.u.n.k now, you think you"re ready, is that it? Do I need to remind you why you"re in this situation the first place?)

I know…

(So you know it"s all…)

I could feel myself falling once again into the cold, dark abyss, the voice yelling at me once more.

YOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULT!!!!!

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I woke up with the feeling of carpet underneath me, and I groaned as I opened my eyes.

I was still in the arcade, but it seems I was on a bench near the big crane game. Hemera was sitting next to me, stroking my back gently while Erebus was standing next to the bench, his arms crossed as he had his eyes close, seemingly pondering about something.

"Oh, you"re awake Depra!" Hemera said, a hint of worry in her normally cheerful yellow eyes. I sat up, groaning as tried to get the soreness out of my body.

"How long?" I simply asked.

"Well, I didn"t exactly keep track, so-!" I cut her off by turning towards Erebus.

"How long?"

He opened his eye, looking at me seriously. "Almost 4 hours."

d.a.m.nit! Hemera noticed my frustration and shook her head. "We tried to wake you, but it felt, I dunno, different this time."

I glared at the ground. It seems she may have been right in her a.s.sumption: Better, but worse at the same time. I clenched my hands so tight that I could feel the warmth of blood trickle down, and only then did I unclench, looking back at the crane game.

"You know King, it takes time for true change to take place. It"ll never happen quickly, and if it does, fight back against it, since it"s never true." I felt his hand on my shoulder, and I could only grit my teeth in response. "It takes time King. It just, takes time."

I sighed, nodding. He patted my shoulder before moving to the game, with Hemera following after him.

If there"s one thing I truly do hate, I thought as wiped the blood off from my hands onto my sweatpants, it"s that voice. I hate it so much, the voice that always proves itself right.

I got up, recomposing myself. Now"s not the time for that Depra. Let"s get this key and wipe the floor with this lesson. And maybe one day, prove that voice wrong.

I walked back to Erebus and Hemera, scratching my head as I looked up at the key high above.

"So, all I have to do is get this d.a.m.n key?" Erebus nodded, and I looked back up at the crane game. "I"ll get this d.a.m.n thing first try, just you see. This thing has already caused me enough grief."

I pulled out my wallet and brought out a ten-dollar bill. I put it into the machine, and the entire thing lit up like a Christmas tree. Words flashed onto a screen at the top, basically telling me that I got one chance to win big.

The crane roared to life, and I worked to move it.

"Now remember King, precision is key here!"

"Nice pun Erebus!"

Those two were no help. I brought the crane almost all the way to the right and stopped before it could. Now, I only had about 15 seconds to get the key, so I brought the crane up as fast as I could. However…

"I see, so they casted Slow onto the crane in order to stop anyone from reaching the higher levels! d.a.m.n these pixies!"

"I don"t know about pixies, but this game is clearly rigged."

d.a.m.nit, I wasn"t about to give up just yet. Still moving the crane up as fast as I could, I was only able to move to the second last row up top before it suddenly stopped. I still had 2 seconds left, so they were basically just telling me to f.u.c.k off at this point.

"Now it seems they"ve casted Stop! f.u.c.king pixies."

"Yeah, they"ve totally rigged the game."

My time ran out and I ended up with nothing.

"Aw f.u.c.k it, let"s just get it over with now," I grumbled, and I yelled out the word that caused me the most grief, and two shocked faces behind me watched as all the prizes fell down to the bottom, sliding towards the hole to let me grab my prizes.

"As I expected from my partner King!" Erebus exclaimed, watching all the prizes fall onto the ground. "I should"ve known he would"ve won all the prizes with only one turn!"

"Ooh! I"ll grab a bag to put all the stuff in!" Hemera exclaimed, dashing away, trying to grab something to hold all the stuff we got. Meanwhile, I just fished around in the stuff and grabbed my ultimate prize, a key. It had a demon head on the top, with it being colored a dark burgundy, almost brown color. I tossed it to Erebus, who pocketed it, and I decided to look through the other various things in it.

There was a bunch, but the most interesting things were a variety of games, an old wand, a strange insignia engraved on metal, a bottle of glitter marked "Pixie Dust, Extremely Volatile," an old book in a language I couldn"t read, a mirror with runes engraved around it, toy weapons (I couldn"t tell if they were real or not), and a pair of giant angel wings that you could attach to yourself, among other oddities.

Hemera came back with a large bag, and we started shoving all the items in it quickly, and once we were done, we had Erebus carry it.

He slung the bag over his shoulder and looked around, frowning. "We should leave. Pixies hate having their stuff stolen, so it would be in our best interest to leave posthaste."

I decided to play along. "Yeah, we should go. We"ve stolen the treasure, so there"s really no need to stay here any longer."

Hemera just let out a cheery smile. "I never know exactly what you mean Erebus, but if we gotta go, then we gotta go!" She led the way, her golden yellow hair bobbing up and down as she skipped down the steps, leading us outside just as an alarm was triggered.

Erebus" eye grew wide. "Hey, we really should leave this place. I have faith in my crimson eye, but it is not yet time for me to release it, let alone on stupid pixies." Basically, he was scared, or at least that"s what I"m a.s.suming.

As we ran outside, the dis...o...b..ll turned a harsh red, circling faster and faster, as if it was scanning for the intruders in the parking lot.

I don"t really know why, but I had a really bad feeling that if we didn"t leave, something would happen, and I didn"t wanna find out what.

Hemera just started to laugh at the entire thing. "This is pretty fun, don"tcha think Depra!?"

How she"s always able to keep a smile on her face is beyond me, but I couldn"t agree with her this time. "Just hurry to the truck already!"

She started to skip faster, outrunning Erebus and I, and she hopped into the driver"s seat and roared the engine to life. "C"mon in yah slowpokes!"

Suddenly, the ground around me was awash with red, and I could hear something screaming behind. I didn"t bother listening in, since I was a.s.suming it was bad. I hopped in the back seat, while Erebus tossed the bag into the back of the pickup and rushed into the pa.s.senger"s seat.

"Lady of Warmth, commence getaway operation!"

She revved the engine and drove out back into the street the red lights tracing us until we were far enough away.

Our getaway driver started to laugh. "Oh man, if you deal with this all the time Erebus, count me in!"

"You mean nearly getting caught by the enemy? Like h.e.l.l I deal with that! I fight the darkness that lurks within the city, an underground hero, not some silly phantom thief that steals treasure from palaces!"

Wow, I don"t even think he realized what he said.

We continued our getaway drive in relative peace, and the first stop was my house it seemed. I hopped out the truck and sighed a breath of relief.

I"m exhausted, I thought as I started to walk towards my front door.

"Hey King!" I turned around to see Erebus waving at me. "I"ll see you first thing tomorrow, yah hear!?"

I just gave him a simple wave goodbye before turning back, continuing my lone walk towards my house. I opened my front door and set my backpack down, my exhaustion at it"s peak. I really did do way too much today.

I looked over in the living and glanced at the wall covering most of the kitchen and some of the dining room. Hanging there was a simple painting that I had somehow managed to get into my possession, much to my disappointment.

I yawned as I went into the kitchen, grabbing a cup of water and chugging it down. I put the cup on the counter and let out another loud yawn, making my way to my room.

I collapsed on my bed, looking at my stuffed bear. She was holding a heart covered in sequins that could change between silver and red. I always put it on silver. Her name was Snowelle Silver-Red Heart, her first name coming from the color she was, which was white.

I squeezed her tight, hoping that all the nightmares and voices wouldn"t disturb for at least one night, so I could one day sleep in peace.

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The next day, afterschool, I met up with Erebus and Hemera in the marked room where we had left off, and we decided to go over the plan Erebus and I had made that morning.

"So, we first have to find where the other part of the map is. I asked the Daytime Beauty where it was out, but she didn"t know where it was," Erebus started, going over our battle plan.

"Sorry, I don"t know what I don"t know!" She said, winking at me.

Yeah, not helpful at all.

Erebus simply nodded before continuing. "After we find the other part of the map, wherever that may be, we can make our way to the third level, and then all we need to do then is reach the roof, where Beelzebub is waiting for us." He flipped the demon key in his hand before placing it on the table.

"It"s up to you King. Where do you wanna go this time?"

I frowned as I looked at the map, which was on the table. Where else haven"t we been too yet? It was then I noticed it.

"We"ll go back here," I said, pointing at the courtyard we originally started at. "It looks as if there"s another way to go there, since we"re at a dead end here."

He gave me a wicked grin. "There"s that decisiveness coming into work King! Come, let us set out once more to trample upon the demons we hunt!"

Our party of three rushed through the palace, slaying the demons in whatever fashion Erebus described, until we finally reached the point where we started.

Not including the way we came in, there was only one other way into the courtyard, the only way we hadn"t gone yet. I motioned the other two to follow me, and we entered a new area of the palace I had envisioned.

"Okay, you"ve reached a new area of the palace. You don"t have a map for this area, so what do you do?"

And without missing a beat, I answered. "Search for demons who know anything, and we once find out any useful info, we kill them."

We proceeded through the palace once more, maneuvering our way around the ground floor, where eventually we found ourselves at near a flamboyant entrance, where three guards were talking amidst themselves.

"You listened in to the three"s conversation, and you find out one of them is carrying the other half of the map. What do you do? All three look tough, so it won"t be easy like the other ones."

Well d.a.m.n. Gotta be quick before they notice though. "I"ll wait to see if they separate, and if they don"t, we"ll kill em all."

As it turned out, the guards didn"t separate, so me and my party of three had no choice but to fight them. It was a hard-fought battle, but we managed to triumph, but not without some casualties…

"I"m sorry Depra, but it seems I"ve screwed up…" Hemera said, as she lay there dying, that same ridiculous smile on her face.

"No, it can"t end like this!" I yelled out.

She shook her head. "No, it"s okay. Don"t worry about me. Go and tackle your demons. If it"s you, I know you can do it."

"Hemera…"

She still had her wonderful smile on her face as she said her last words to me. "Make sure you buy me snacks when you"re finished, got that?" And the Daytime Beauty breathed her last, leaving our merry band back to two…

I gritted my teeth, nodding as I grabbed the other half of the map we needed, finally able to make our way to the third floor.

"You have all the necessary requirements to reach the roof now King, but it seems you"ve lost a valuable teammate. What will you do?"

And without any hesitation, I spoke. "We"re going to the roof to settle it."

And our party of two rushed through the palace, the enemies now aware of our presence, but it no longer mattered. All we needed to do now was reach the roof and kill Beelzebub, and it"ll all be over.

We finally reached the third floor, there but a single hallway leading to our final destination, the final set of stairs leading to the roof. But, standing in our way was��!

"It looks like a high demon. This one will be no joke, but they"re the only thing standing between our way. What will you do?"

"I"ll fight!" And our party took the high demon head on, defeating him, but also losing one final member…

"Alas King, it seems you alone have to be the one who deals with him," Erebus said, his red eye gleaming at me in determination. "I believe in the end, you"ll make the correct choice, no matter the circ.u.mstances." He handed me the demon key, nodding at me.

"Not you too teacher!"

"Ah, but it"s time for the student to surpa.s.s the student. You can do it, I just know it…" he gasped, and breathed his last, leaving me alone.

I clenched my key tightly, before glaring at the final set of stairs. And as I made my way to the roof, I screamed out the name I hated most.

"BEEEELZEBUUUUUB!"

I put the key in and unlocked the door, slamming it open to find a lone demon staring up at the bloodred red sky.

"Ah, so it seems there"s only you left." He turned around, a cloak covering his face.

"I"ve come to kill you, Beelzebub."

"Hmph, someone like you lost all their power long ago. Whatever sliver you hold left is not enough to beat me, an Archdemon of h.e.l.l!"

"Of course, I figured it was you, yah stupid nitwit!"

"Ouch! Necessitas, what the h.e.l.l!?

My immersion was ruined, and I blinked to see Necessitas pulling on Erebus" ear.

"Hey, what the h.e.l.l are you doing my beloved Dark Empress?"

"I"m not yours!" Erebus" screaming got louder.

Hemera, who was standing behind me, was laughing. "Ah well, it was fun while it lasted, right Depra!?"

Oh c.r.a.p, I totally did something embarra.s.sing, didn"t I? I started to roll on the ground and scream internally as I started to lose years off my life from the amount of cringe I was going through.

"Agh f.u.c.k! This was so embarra.s.sing!"

I heard familiar laughing, and looked up to see the person playing Beelzebub, Hiro.

"I thought I might find something interesting if I played along, but who knew you could get so into character Depra!?"

"Agh, kill me now please!" I moaned and held my head to the ground, the cringe still killing me severely.

"See, this is why you shouldn"t do this type of s.h.i.t! And don"t drag Depra into it!"

"But it was for training, I"m telling you my beloved Dark Empress!"

"WHO SAID I WAS YOURS!?" I heard a loud scream, and I temporarily forgot my own pain as I watched Erebus get KO"d by Necessitas. She brushed her hands and sighed.

"What an idiot." I got up as she walked towards me, holding her phone. "Hey, give me your phone number, and if tries to drag you into his fantasies again, just shoot me a text, and I"ll be back faster than you can say "order," got it?"

"Oh, me too! I want Depra"s phone number too!" I exchanged phone numbers with the two girls, and Necessitas looked back at Erebus and shook her head, adjusting her gla.s.ses.

"He really is an idiot."

"Aw, but you love him all the same, don"t yah Necessitas?" Hemera teased, poking her in the side.

Her face flashed red as she quickly turned around. "Oh whatever, leave me alone already!"

Hiro walked next to Erebus, poking his body. "Hey dude, you still alive?"

He groaned as he managed to peel himself off the floor. "Yep, I"m fine." He got back to his feet and nodded. "After, I am one who always lurks within the Darkness, forced into the night at a young age and taught to fight demons, I am the Crimson-Eyed Dark-Haired warrior of the night, all who hear my name quiver in fear, for my name is Erebus of the Blazing Red and the Billowing Black, Slayer of Demons, Ruler of all those in the Dark!"

Whoa, he said something without getting interrupted by Necessitas. I glanced back at her, and she seemed to be engrossed in her conversation with Hemera.

I walked next to Hiro, who I already knew was gonna tease me for a long time to come. "You know, if you wanted to act Chuunibyou, you should"ve asked the Hidden Club. We would"ve happily have done it for you!" Ah, if only he wasn"t snickering the entire time he said that, maybe I would"ve believed him.

Erebus cleared his throat, and Hiro nodded at me. "Anyway, I"ll see you later at the club, right Depra?"

"If you say so," I grumbled, and he left, chuckling to himself.

"It seems I have no more to teach you King! You have learned everything you need in order to make that first crucial decision for true change. The rest lies within your conviction, but you"ll find that in due time."

Once again, I really don"t know if I learned anything. "Thanks, I guess. I"ll be sure to use what I learned."

He gave me a smile, and he offered me a hand. "You"ve made me proud King."

I shook, a small smile spreading on my face. "Thank you, I mean it."

"Ah, but first, phone numbers." He whipped out his phone, which was a black case with a crimson eye in the center. We quickly exchanged them, and Erebus waved me goodbye.

"Farewell King! Until our next battle!" I tossed him the key, and he pocketed it. Although, there was one thing bugging me.

"Hey, why exactly do you call me King?

Erebus turned around, and a sly grin appeared on his face as a slight breeze came through. "Who can say, except for those who know?"

Suddenly, I felt overwhelmed by a feeling of joy and happiness, and I clutched my head as I saw a young boy with one red eye give me a sly grin.

"You have to be the King, since you saved us!" And the breeze just barely showed me what the boy"s hidden eye looked like, and I was sucked into black before blinking, looking at Erebus, who was now walking back to the two girls waiting for him.

And once again, the feeling dissipated as quickly as it appeared, and then there was nothing but a yawning abyss…

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I watched Depra walk to the school gate, grinning to myself. "Alright, it seems he"s doing quite well."

"I see, so that"s who she"s been walking home with. Huh, isn"t he the guy who went crazy earlier in the school?"

I whirled around to the voice and found a girl who was watching Depra leave with Pandora, like me. She had short black hair with green eyes, and she somehow managed to sneak up on me, a feat that even the most skilled would have trouble doing.

"Who the h.e.l.l are you?" I asked, on guard as I instinctively clutched my key. She frowned as she noticed me, stepping back.

"Isn"t it rude to ask people their names without telling them their own first?"

I almost laughed. "Okay, fine then. I"m Hiro, a senior. And you?"

She looked me up and down and shrugged. "Okay, I"m Mestra, and I"m a soph.o.m.ore. Why are you spying on them?"

I turned back around to see Depra laughing at something Pandora said, and they quickly vanished. I sighed before turning back to the girl named Mestra.

"I"m a.s.suming you"re a friend of Pandora"s then?"

"Yep, known her longer than I would care to admit. And that boy, you"ve known him long?"

I chuckled. "No, but it sure as h.e.l.l feels like it. Met him soph.o.m.ore year."

She nodded, looking at me curiously. "Hmm, you don"t seem like a bad guy, but I feel as if I"ve seen you before somewhere…"

"Nah, I"m a n.o.body," I said, quickly changing the subject. "I"m a.s.suming you"re here to make sure it works out between those two?"

A brief look of surprise, and a small smile was brought on her cute face. "I see, so you"re the same then."

"You wanna work together than? I"m gonna need to talk to Pandora eventually, so if you wanna talk to Depra then, that"s fine with me."

"Ah, so Depra"s his name then? Interesting…" I leaned against the school building as she pondered her choices. "Fine, let"s make sure nothing get"s in their way, got it?"

I grinned. "Deal." And we shook on it.