Chapter 1: A World Struck by Change
In 2020, a pandemic brought the world to it's knees in a matter of months.
The virus was spreading rapidly, hospitals were overflowing and people were dying. Government's all over the world had to do something.
To decrease the spread of the virus, lockdowns were enforced. In a game of wack-a-mole, further restrictions were put in place in locations where the spread was particularly bad. Despite how bad it had all seemed in the beginning, things were under control and quickly began to get better. Gradually, society's began to open back up.
…
"If you are sick, or think you might be infected, please do not travel with public transport." The emotionless female voice broadcasted from all of the station's speakers.
No-one batted an eye at the message, or even seemed to be listening as it played every few minutes. All this had already become far too normal.
It's amazing how quick the human mind can adapt to new circumstances.
Lockdown had already ended a few months ago, and most people had returned to school and work. Things were "normal", or at least they felt normal. But life before and after the pandemic was radically different.
Social gatherings were at an absolute minimum. Hotspots for the virus kept popping up, and the government responded by placing further restrictions in those regions.
Kaden stared emptily at the space in front of him as he waited for the train, he had stayed up too late and was now feeling the consequences. He'd honestly preferred online classes as it allowed him to sleep in a bit longer. But well, it was also all to easy to simply just skip the classes too. He'd fallen way behind on his school work.
The train pulled up to the platform right on time. The doors slid open and he boarded the train along with the rest of the crowd. There were a few fresh people in the crowd, but most people hadn't quite woken up at this early time. It was 7 in the morning after all.
He wasn't paying any attention when a black see through box appeared in front of his eyes. As his feet landed on the train steps, his eyes noticed the white shimmery letters that were layered on top.
┌
RIFT DETECTED
┘
His entire body felt like it was sucked through a spinning tube, a myriad of colors flashed before his eyes.
He lost his balance and fell to the ground as he was suddenly plopped out.
Lying on the ground, his vision slowly coming back into focus, he saw the people standing around him. Everyone else was standing up against a wall, using it as support. It seemed he had got the worst of it out of everyone involved.
A young woman reached out a hand to him, the fearful expression on her face was clear, even though it was hidden behind a mask.
"A-Are you okay?" She asked him.
"Ugh…" Kaden rubbed a hand against his head, rubbing his eyes before taking her outstretched hand and standing up. "I'm fine, thanks."
"Oh, good." She visibly perked up a bit, possibly a slight smile beneath her mask, even if her fear was still obvious to anyone looking.
"Where are we?" Kaden looked around, taking in his surroundings.
There were 6 of them in a room that looked very much like the one he had been entering on the train. The middle room between the train compartments, from where you boarded the train. But there was something off about it. It was… Different somehow. Broken.
The interior was all jumbled, colors were off, and there were random rock protruding's piercing through the walls.
Now that he thought about it, these other people in the compartment with him, he was fairly sure he remembered seeing them board the train right before him.
"Well it's great you're fine, but I think there's more pressing matters at hand. I don't know if any of you have noticed, but we can't exactly leave…" A gruff man leaning against a wall, spoke up. "I've no clue what happened, but there's no doors in here." He gestured to the walls around them.
…
On the other side of the walls, a gaggle of hideous demonic looking creatures stood, eyeing the humans on the other side.
One of these creatures in particular, was riled up, laughing hysterically and knocking its axe against the wall, which was transparent on their side.
"That one's real smart huh Abraxas?" The creature opened its mouth, showing it's sharp teeth in a wide frightening grin. "No doors!!" The creature mockingly imitated the human and kept laughing. Spit flying everywhere.
"Quiet Archimedes… You're drooling all over the place, it's unsightly." A tall aristocratic looking creature, with finely carved facial features, sneered at the lesser demon.
"Sorry Abraxas…" Archimedes' ears drooped down and he bowed his head, sniffling slightly.
Abraxas turned his attention to the humans on the other side of the wall, his brow furrowing in thought.
If the humans had seen him, they would've thought he looked oddly.. Human, just like them. Except his irises were bright red, and there were two black horns protruding from his forehead.
"Where did these people come from? How did they invade my domain?" Abraxas spoke out loud to no one in particular, as he mulled over the issue at hand.
The other demons were clever enough to realize that he hadn't been asking them a question.
"No door… Hehehe…" Archimedes whispered, chuckling quietly this time so as to not disturb his master.
"Could this be? I suppose it'll be fastest just to ask them." Abraxas brought his hand up, and felt the wall. There was a barrier in place, and it was clearly laced with Aether.
Still, this much was no issue for him. He concentrated his Aether flow, directing it all to his palm.
The sound of glass cracking began, quickly increasing in frequency, until there was a resounding crash and the barrier shattered apart, the wall crumbling to the floor with it.
The humans on the other side watched with terror, as the wall came down and a bunch of strange looking creatures stared at them. They were far outnumbered, and didn't even have a clue what to do.
Before they could think things through, the demonic creatures had already overpowered them all.
"Archimedes, bring that girl over here." Abraxas pointed towards the girl he had seen helping up that young man earlier.
Archimedes eagerly sprang up, grinning as he approached the girl.
She had already been frightened when she was transported to this strange place. When she had first seen the demons, she'd started shaking like a leaf. And now… At the sight of the hideous looking thing approaching her, brandishing it's battle-worn axe, her reaction was to scream, but she couldn't even let out a sound.
"The scientist? That guy?" Kaden muttered from where he was once more lying on the ground. His expression was one of puzzlement as his mind tried to overlap the respected dead scientist with this unworldly being. No matter how he thought, he just couldn't see how these two things had anything in common. There was a sort of comedic effect to it all.
"What did you say?" Abraxas' eyes flicked to Kaden's, the humans muttered comment had not gone unheard.
"Oh, nothing." Kaden had an urge to stay quiet and disappear, as this almost human looking thing's eyes locked with his own.
"Scientist what is that?" Abraxas took a step closer.
Kaden just stared blankly back, he wanted to be everywhere but here as he felt the demon's tremendous might bearing down on him.
"Did you not hear? I asked you a question."
"Uh…" Kaden wanted to answer, to appease this demon so that he would be left alone. But nothing came to him, his mind was blank. He had trouble even collecting his thoughts.
"How strange… These creatures, their language is very similar to ours. Yet they have some strange sounding words I don't understand."
The gruff man who had spoken earlier almost wanted to cry. This demonic looking thing was calling them creatures, but to him and the other humans, it was obviously these demons that were the creatures!
"Well no matter.. If you can't explain it to me, I shall find out the answer for myself." Abraxas took another step, now standing right before Kaden. He knelt down and his fingers grasped Kaden's chin, slowly lifting it, forcing Kaden's eyes to look into his own. An electric red began to take over his eyes, quickly ramping up in intensity.
Suddenly, Kaden felt as if a wealth of information was being browsed through inside his head. Memories pulled open, flipped around, and thrown to the ground. Like someone had gone ravaging through his belongings, carelessly rummaging through them with no regard. All while an ear splitting headache was starting to take hold, like his entire head was being split open.
And then all of a sudden, the feeling ceased and he was returned to reality, his eyelids felt heavy and his head pounding. He shook his head, desperate to keep focus despite the after effects of whatever that had just been.
"Very interesting." Abraxas mulled over the new information he had just gotten.
"What is it Abraxas?" Archimedes licked his lips, eagerly showing off his toothy grin.
"Be quiet Archimedes, I need to think." A stern look was all it took, Archimedes bowed his head in compliance.
"You… W-What you do to me?" Kaden barely managed to speak. His thoughts were still a jumbled mess and it was incredibly hard to think, let alone string together a coherent sentence.
"I simply took a quick look at your memories, some of which were quite interesting."
"My memories?" Kaden's tired mind had trouble understanding this.
"Anyway… I think I have an idea. You can dispense of the other ones, I only need this one here alive." Abraxas spoke, gesturing for the demons to kill all the other humans. Like he had simply told them to get rid of some insignificant ants.
"Oh let me! Let me! Hehehehe." Archimedes began to giggle hysterically again, with a quick swing of his axe, the head of the girl fell to the floor, rolling along the floor, covering it in fresh blood.
Kaden watched in horror as the demons quickly dealt with the other people in the compartment. He tried to move, to struggle, but he was too weak to do anything. Before his eyes, body after body fell limply to the floor. Some with their heads removed, and others just spraying blood from a neck wound.
His eyes locked with the eyes of the girl who had helped him up. Her removed head lay there on the floor, her dead eyes piercing his own in an almost accusatory way. Her face was forever marked with that frightened expression she had worn since the demons appeared.
He wanted to scream, to shout, to simply pick up a weapon and fight back. But even if he wasn't being held down, he was simply too weak to do anything. These demons fought with a strength and ferocity unlike anything he had ever seen before.
Turning his back to the scene of slaughter, Abraxas glided over to another wall. The one where he had seen the humans, as he had come to know them, tumble through.
He pressed his palm against the wall, flattening it against the surface. The Aether flow here was very similar to the wall he had shattered. The corners of his mouth curled up in a little smirk. This had to be what he'd been waiting all these years for, it couldn't be anything else.
"It seems…" He took a moment to consider his thoughts. "It seems that these humans came here by a rift. A corrupted one. This wall acts as the gate, concealing an entrance to the other world. A newly ascended world that is."
The other demons had finished with the killing and were now listening to Abraxas' words. Expressions of shock were on all their faces. Everyone had heard of newly ascended worlds before, they were always described as a legendary thing.
A newly ascended world was one that had only recently begun producing Aether energy. It was very rare, and brought with it bountiful opportunities for those who came across it.
Aether energy was mysterious, very little was known about it, except for a few simple things. One, it could make you very strong if you had enough and could control it. Two, through killing others, you could gain a small percentage of their Aether energy.
And then there were two more things, that none of these demons had personally experienced. First, when worlds began to produce it, changes would start to occur rapidly. One of them being rifts, that allow instantaneous traversal between worlds. And secondly, sometimes Aether energy in new worlds could mutate, but this was incredibly rare and unlikely.
Most people would never even have the opportunity to go to another ascended world than their own, let alone experience a mutated one.
"Master, can we enter this world?" Archimedes asked with a hopeful tone to his voice. He knew his master had been waiting for this chance his whole life, and he wanted to go with him.
"Not yet, there seems to be a barrier. However I don't think it'll be an issue." Abraxas voice was dripping with anticipation. "Heh… First brother, third brother, finally I will see for myself just what you've been bragging about."
"Ninth Prince, surely you are not thinking of going through this rift? It is dangerous, we do not know what this new world contains!" An elderly demon with a smaller than average body spoke in a panicked fluster.
"Fukwa, don't be stupid now. There is nothing that can stop me from going through this rift. Archimedes, I will help you take over this human's body." Abraxas easily spoke the new word he had learned from the human's mind.
"Ninth Prince, I urge you to reconsider! You shouldn't even enter this rift, let alone bring Archimedes with you. Your father will be worried, please go home for now prince." Fukwa was panicking inside now, he knew he had to do whatever it took to stop the prince from leaving this world.
"My father? What are these cowardly words you hide behind? Go home and wait, huh? You must realize that I know your true aim is just to stall for time. You just want me to wait so that you can alert my elder brother so that he can make use of this opportunity instead. You're a coward, you want nothing more than to save your own hide. Do you take me for ignorant?" Abraxas scoffed, his eyes turning a piercing red once more.
"Master… What is a human?" Archimedes broke the tense atmosphere, his eyes a mirror of confusion.
"Urgh… That is what these creatures call themselves, humans." Abraxas pointed to Kaden who was lying on the floor, his mind in a state of shock, not even registering the words being spoken around him.
"Ohhhh, I see. Humans…" Archimedes said, rolling his tongue and grinning. "It sounds funny."
"Forgive me Ninth Prince, for speaking out of order, but Archimedes is not a fit choice. Even you know this! If you must take someone, take me." The elder did not hesitate and give up, even under Abraxas fierce stare.
"Take you? Take you? You��re being ridiculous. Enough of this. Since the day I was born, you've been nothing but a spy planted here so that my brother can keep me in check. For 200 years you've been nothing but a thorn in my side. Even if that wasn't true, you're weak. I have no use for you, Archimedes would beat you in seconds."
"But.. Prince.."
"Stop speaking or you will lose your head. I have already tolerated your transgressions for too long."
Fukwa realized it was pointless, now all he could do was stay alive and go back to the First Prince to bring him this news. Hopefully he would be generous and spare his life.
"Now Archimedes, take my hand." Abraxas held out his hand for Archimedes to take.
"Yes master." Archimedes' eagerly took his hand, a proud expression on his face after listening to his master defending him.
Abraxas placed his other palm on Kaden's forehead, who immediately woke up from his stupor, as he felt the stirrings of unknown energies inside him.
"N-No… What are you doing? STOP!" Kaden felt his entire body jolting, vibrating against his will. Little by little, he began to feel some presence entering his mind.
Both Archimedes and Kaden ceased their activity in the physical space. Both of their presences had now retreated to Kaden's mindspace.
Abraxas waited patiently. He had helped Archimedes enter Kaden's mindspace, there wasn't anymore he could do now.
He knew it had been a success when he saw Archimedes' body go limp, and slowly shimmer out of existence.
"Master I…" Kaden's eyes opened and looked at him reverently.
But then the eyes shifted to a shimmering rage, as they glared at Abraxas with an immense hatred.
"You… What did you to do me!" Kaden bellowed, shaking with fury.
But then just as suddenly as the change had taken place, it reverted, back to that admiring gaze from before.
"What in the?" Abraxas didn't know what to make of the situation.
"Sorry Master I… I couldn't take over this body completely. He is still here, fighting me for control." On Kaden's face was now an ashamed expression.
"Tsk…" Abraxas clenched his fist, this was a big problem. It would hinder his plans for the human world, if the human couldn't at least be suppressed completely. He would've preferred him wiped from existence completely, but that seemed very unlikely now.
"Let him out Archimedes, I will talk to him."
"Okay master." There was a brief pause, and then the expression of sheer hatred was brought back. Kaden wanted to lunge at Abraxas and tear him to pieces, but found himself being suppressed by some invisible force.
"Listen human, Kaden was it? You may not like me much, and trust me I don't care for you either. But things haven't quite gone as either of us hoped. But they can become far worse. What was the name of that friend of yours again? Liza? That memory wasn't quite clear, I'm not sure I remember correctly." Abraxas smiled.
It was just a regular friendly smile, but to Kaden it contained so much more. It was menacing, so very menacing. Kaden shuddered at the thought of what this demon could do to Liza and his other friends.
"I see from your expression that I was correct after all. And well, Liza isn't the only one is she? There are others. Friends, teachers, family… I can easily kill them all if you're unwilling to cooperate with my plans. Now, be a good boy and give back control of the body to Archimedes. As long as you behave and stay out of my way, I won't kill every single person you know." Abraxas smiled once more, still that same kind friendly smile.
Kaden's expression sunk, the evil hatred all gone from his eyes. And soon, it was clear that Archimedes was once more the one in control.
"He's stopped fighting master."
"Good… But stay wary of him, he might not be willing to abide by our little agreement forever."
"Now, back to the rift. We will be leaving shortly." Abraxas walked over to the wall, once more pressing his palm flat against the wall.
He repeated what he'd done to the other barrier, and the cracking sounds rang out one by one until this wall also shattered, revealing a blue rift in space behind it.
"Hm…" Abraxas frowned. "Seems this won't be as easy as I thought. Because of the world's newly ascended state, this rift can't support my transition."
"So we can't go through master?" It was still hard getting used to seeing and hearing that human talk, but knowing that it was Archimedes speaking.
"No, we can. A sacrifice simply has to be made. If I'm too powerful to go through, I will simply have to suppress myself for the time being." Without hesitation, Abraxas brought a blade to his horns and chopped them both off. Where the horns had been cut down to, his skin quickly grew over and concealed them.
"This way it'll also be easier to move around in the human world." Abraxas now looked just like a human, except for his red irises. He had never seen a human with red eyes in any of Kaden's memories.
"M-Master… Your." Archimedes stuttered.
"Ninth Prince, what are you doing!" Fukwa had just gotten his hope up, hearing that the rift wouldn't allow the prince to pass through. But now the Prince had decidedly cut off his horns in one fell swoop, dashing his hopes immediately once more.
"Archimedes, my horns will regrow in a matter of time. This opportunity, it is too rare to give up now merely because of a small sacrifice." Abraxas addressed Archimedes, ignoring Fukwa's concerns.
"But it could be years Master."
"And what is a few years? This is an opportunity that only comes along every few hundred years. For some, never. Let us not waste any more time here. The rest of you, go back and inform my father that I have left for the human world. Now come along Archimedes."
Eager to experience the new world, Abraxas took one step through the rift, not looking back for a second. His body immediately disappeared.
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