I felt my body slowly taking form from small minuscule particles.

I was floating without any regard for gravity.

Beneath my feet was a sight I had already seen before.

Everything was nothing but mere death and destruction.

The ground was incandescent.

Everything else is scorching in the fire.

I’ve seen this once, or to be exact, I’ve dreamed about it once.

Turning myself back, I saw it again.

That giant two-headed dragon.

It is the same as the one I dreamed about that time before the DeathSeeker suddenly attacked me. The only difference is that this time it seemed even more imposing.

Just as before, the dragons simply glared or stared, at me.

They suddenly reached their giant claws onto me, and I had no choice but to see these dragons enclosing me within their giant claws since I couldn't even move my own body.

I was immediately engulfed in complete darkness within their grasp.

Even though I knew it was all a dream, I couldn't help but feel small and miserable in comparison to them.

The next thing I realized was that I was startled awake from that dream.

My body was lying on the ground, next to something warm.

From afar, I could feel the sound and smell of a very lively forest.

I had no idea where I was, but I knew I was lying on the ground and that a fire was kindling next to me.

A fire?

When did I start a fire?

When I tried to sit, I was greeted by excruciating pains from broken bones and bruises all over my body.

"So you’re finally awake. Huh"

When I turned my head to face the source of the voice, I couldn't help but immediately stand up, and back down despite all the pain I endured, and prepared to fight, only to realize that I was missing my appendages.

My fear and anxiety went all over the roof.

Not knowing what else to do, I simply enhanced my body to face that thing.

"Calm down, I mean no harm. Your appendages things are there. " the silhouette said while pointing to a spot on the ground with his finger in a very human way

The voice I heard was not from a human but from a bestial silhouette.

The bestial silhouette was visible or rather felt. Everything around me was dark as usual, except for that thing, which appeared to be a cluster of glowing matter that reminded me of the small aina particles I felt when I first tried using aina.

It spoke, it acted like a human, I could see it. All of this was strange, but it wasn't what shocked me to the point of having to be on guard and almost instantly ready to fight it.

All of this was strange, but it wasn't what shocked me to the point of having to be on guard and almost instantly ready to fight it,

What shocked me the most about that thing is that I recognized that silhouette as one of a DeathSeeker.

"Yo~ That’s super rude buddy. Do I look like an ugly lemur to you?"

"What … !?"

Did it just read my mind?

"Yes, I did."

What the hell is going on? Am I still in a dream?

Or is it me who is losing my head?

"No, You’re not."

…

I didn't know what to do, so I decided to be silent for a moment and tried to not think at all.

But even that was comprehended by that thing.

"Did you really think that you would stop thinking by merely stopping thinking?"

"What the hell are you?" I ventured, not knowing what else to do.

It didn’t attack me yet, I guess it’s not hostile to me, for the time being.

"Me? I’m just a very unique creature." The thing declared while assuming a very human therefore creepy smug pose.

"That doesn’t explain anything to me."

"Well, I guess I have to explain things from the beginning, I suppose."

It went to the spot it had indicated earlier, picked up something on the ground, to finally toss it at my feet.

The thing it threw at me were my appendages, all messily jumbled together.

"You were falling to a certain death to the bottom layer when "I" proposed to you my assistance, assistance which you wholeheartedly accepted."

My memory was hazy at first, but then I remembered killing that DeathSeeker, and then being tossed from the platform I was on, and fraily falling to what he said was "a certain death," and it was only then that I remembered hearing someone offer me his help, which I accepted since I had no other choice.

"Glad, you finally remember. Now?"

"… Thanks."

"You’re welcome."

" … What exactly are you?" I once again ventured.

"Me? Well… I don’t know exactly how I would describe myself, I usually don’t bother myself with those philosophical questions."

" … You know me… I’ve been with you for a while now."

"What?"

"Think of me as something that was created through diverse processes but was ultimately awakened by what you ultimately did. All those lives you’ve taken in the frozen hell, all you’ve accomplished I saw it … Which is why I revealed myself here in front of you, with that appearance." It said opening his arms wide.

"What I am, doesn’t matter, You may think of me as a ghost but I’m more simply that, I’m the one who feeds upon the dying."

"What ?"

"I am the one who steals and you, weird little thing, you’re the one who kills." He said pointing his finger at me.

I'm still not sure what it's trying to say. I get the impression that the more it explains, the more questions arise.

"I am Death, and you are the killer who feeds me. Do you still don't get it? This appearance is because I stole it from what you've killed." It said as it got closer.

It wasn't until that point that I realized what had been bothering me all along: the voice wasn't even a sound.

It was difficult to tell it apart from a real voice at first, but once I noticed that distance did not interfere with the intensity of the voice, I immediately identified the thing as not a voice, or at least not the kind that could be heard through hearing, but one that reassembled very much to what I assume a telepathic communication should be.

"What do you want from me?" I asked not knowing what else to ask.

"Nothing… But You and I, Little one, we share one common goal"

"Which is?"

"Strength"

"What I propose to you is to journey with me, but all I ask is that you continue to do what you've always done: seek strength, which means killing, and possibly a little more. You can count on me to help you achieve that goal as long as it benefits both of us.

"An ally…?"

"Yes?"

I remembered how difficult it had been for me to be alone for the past few months.

There was no need to hide it; I was lonely being alone on my own, and the only reason I was able to live through it was the constant pain and humiliation I was forced to undergo, which served as an anesthésiant for me against my loneliness.

"Is this all you want to know?"

"There is something else I want to know," I asked glancing here and there blindly,

I noticed it earlier when I was sweeping the area with my appendages.

"What is this place? This isn’t in the middle layer, right?"

This location was clearly distinct from Ivohy, and it was most emphatically not the frozen hell's middle layer.

"We've made it to the other side of the frozen hell." He said pointing in the direction of what was behind me.

Using my tendrils, I moved in the direction he indicated.

With each movement, I felt an unbearable amount of strain and pain weighing down on me.

Soon after, I came to a ledge that led to what I assume is the edge of the Frozen Hell, implying that this is the "Vaovao" Hell in Hell.

I stood there, silent, allowing my mind to wander.

I was soon joined by the one who introduced himself as "Death", who simply went by my side.

"About you said earlier about our common goal…I- "

"You don't have to make a decision right now; first, rest, heal your wounds... Be proud of your accomplishments,... I'll wait until then, and only then will I listen to what you have to say."

He was completely right; my injuries were numerous and horrendous, and at this point, I'm nothing more than a burden.

I definitely won’t refuse this opportunity to rest.

" … Thanks."

To be honest, being complemented and proposed to take a break by something that calls itself death felt very strange.

"Right?" It commented peeking into my thoughts once again.

"Can you stop that?!"

"Okay~ Okay, I stop peeking into your thoughts."

How do you do that anyway?

“It’s a secret.”

***

Just like that, two months passed without me noticing.

Death and I remained at the Frozen Hell's edge, waiting for my wound to heal.

He looked after me while allowing me take my whole "well-deserved rest," as he put it.

For the time being, despite his mysterious existence and unusual ability to read my thoughts, he appears to be very friendly.

He stopped peering into my thoughts or at least pretended not to hear what I was thinking.

Thinking back, I realized how easily I went to trust him, but it wasn't until later that I realized why: first, he wasn't human, and second, he was one of the first things I was given the opportunity to see in these dark forest, and he glowed with the color of the only thing I could rely on upon arrival: Aina.

I was now standing on the ledge of Hell in Hell, which led to the Frozen Hell.

"Is it safe to assume that you've completely healed from your wounds?"

"Yes."

"I guess I can finally hear your decision then."

"Do I really have to voice what I've decided? After all, you can peer in my thoughts, right?"

"Yes, you have to; I said I've stopped peering into your thoughts; if I said I knew what you decided, it would imply that I'm still peering into your thoughts. After all, who knows what you've been thinking over the last two months; perhaps you've changed your mind."

"Humph… I suppose you're right... You see Death. When I first awoke from the cocoon in the middle of the Ivohy, I used to fantasize about quickly becoming stronger here and then returning to the Human Continent to exact my vengeance and reclaim what was once mine. At the time, I still had "hopes."."

"Are you saying you don't have any of those "hopes" anymore?"

"I still do, but what I've been through in these woods over the last nine months has changed my perspective on that "hope." I used to be overly optimistic, but now I'm more realistic. I will not be able to reclaim what has been taken from me. At least not how I imagined it."

"I should have been ten today, or around this time of year…” As I looked at my missing arm, “I should've been Ronandt Aubrecht today. "Yet here I am, a nameless accursed child thirsty for strength."

“If I truly want to exact my vengeance, I must cut all ties with that life I once had, since I will never be able to claim it again. I am not Ronandt Aubrecht; the boy who should have been him died on that night. Just as you call yourself Death, I am just a killer."

Sorry, Maa; I'm sure you're moving heaven and earth right now to assist me.

Sorry, Syrus; I'm sure this isn't what you were hoping for, but it's the only option I have right now.

Sorry, Mael and Ramia, I was never really able to thank you two for what you 've done for me; the time I spent with you really lightened me, to a point that I even began to believe that I wasn't as strange as I had imagined, and that I was just a normal child.

Sorry, Mother, I couldn't do anything for you in the end, and even though what happened to you wasn't my fault, I still felt like I owed you so much.

Sorry everyone but from here I must leave you all behind.

It's just easier that way.

I'm too far gone to be weighed down by such a thing as a happy lost life.

All that matters for me now is to get stronger and to make each one of these seven ArchBishop and seven Holy paladin eat their own shit.

" Should I take that for a yes?"

"Yes," I said as I extended my right hand to him. "As long as you don't betray me, Death, I'll feed you abundantly; what I did in the frozen hell was only the beginning."

"I'm looking forward to it." He said accepting my hand"

Turning our backs, we made our way to the vicinity of Vao vao, the Hell in Hell.

"Hey, now that we're like buddies,... partners, could you please stop calling me Death? I kind of realize it's kind of cold."

"Sigh… It’s you who introduced yourself as Death, … then what do you want me to call you, now?"

"Hum… let me think… what do you think about Han?"

"Han? It’s a weird name but I guess I prefer that over Death."

"Right, and for you … what about… "

"Eh, I don’t need one." I protested.

"Do you want me to keep calling you Little thing or Killer?"

"I guess no."

"What about Hon?"

"Another weird name, again."

"It’s not a weird name. We’re the explosive and slaughtering duo, Han and Hon." He said enthusiastically.

"Do as you want."

That marked the beginning of our long and perilous yet unforgettable journey through hell itself.