Pitch black darkness.

"Appraiser Dior? Anyone? Hello, is there anybody?"

Clenching his fist, Asura got into a fighting stance, preparing himself for a sneak attack. He channeled his mana into his body, making his skin hard as steel, and also pushed out a sphere of mana from his body.

'Mana Sense'!

Expanding his 'Mana Sense' as far as he could, Asura still could not detect anything out of the ordinary. He had also realised that he could not sense Appraiser Dior's and the receptionist's mana. Within his 'Mana Sense' sphere, there was absolutely nothing.

Looking around him, all he could see was the darkness. He could not even see his body, but he could still feel his body muscles and the mana flowing within his mana vessels.

"Am I even still alive? Did the King of Hell finally decide to take my soul?" Asura had an uneasy feeling building up in his chest.

As if it had teleported, a black shadow appeared out of nowhere and in front of Asura, its black silhouette seeming to flicker like black flames.

Seeing the black shadow appear out of nowhere, Asura felt alarmed, wondering if it was a demon that was sent by the King of Hell to claim his soul.

Asura readied his full power 'Burning Gale'. "Just what......is this thing?"

It was a strange feeling. Two green glowing eyes appeared on its head, reflecting Asura's image back at him. The black silhouette seemed to bend the darkness around it, causing unknown terror to rise in Asura's heart.

"Dangerous!" Asura realised.

Staring at Asura with it's calm neon green eyes, the black shadow didn't seem to want to fight. Still, Asura kept a firm grip on his prepared 'Burning Gale', watching the green eyes closely. He could not sense killing intent, but rather, curiosity.

".....Human from another world."

A sudden low voice enter Asura's ears, coming from the black shadow, the voice shook the darkness they were in.

"Do you deserve the power you so desire? Then let me tell you."

"....Are you speaking to me? Who are you?" Asura asked, finally regaining his composure.

The black shadow spoke again, the darkness rippling with each syllable. "My true body has rotted, ruined by the passage of time. Driven by mad hatred, my body's turned into flame. I seek a new master. You who I hope for, hear my wish. Possess my soul, and prove your worth. I'll turn the Shards of Silforia into a sword, and burn your enemies into ashes."

"Fail, and you shall end up like the man before you, a mere puppet of Nilfim." The black shadow added, its green eyes seemed to glow a little brighter as it spoke the last sentence.

Without warning, the black shadow flew forwards, right into Asura's chest, intertwining itself with the white mana in Asura's 'Origin of Life'!

"Are you fuckin kiddi-" But before Asura could finish, an excruciating pain emerged from his 'Origin of Life', almost causing him to lose consciousness.

"KUUUAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

Chapter 22: Choronzon's Obeisance