Sup? New fic. Disclaimers. Enjoy.

The door was open.

I swallowed dryly. Once I went out, there was no turning back...

But I had to. There was no space for hesitation. I couldn't allow myself to take a step back.

I needed power. There was no other answer. I had no choice. I looked at Igor, who widened his eternal grin slightly.

Once I got up from my chair, I walked towards the open door.

Even though I knew I shouldn't have, I looked back. That was a sign of hesitation that I couldn't hide or suppress. I couldn't say I wasn't afraid...

Be brave, dammit!

...

Taking a deep breath, I stepped through the blue door.

Off into the wild.

...

...

I woke up, but I seemed to be on my feet. After I raised my head, I took a brief look around.

My eyes caught nothing but fog... the path before me was uncertain.

Even though I could see nothing, however, I felt compelled to walk forward.

I could swear I heard a voice... telling me not to be afraid. To proceed.

And it worked, as it guided me to take a step forward. And another, and another...

My quiet stroll through fog was surely bewildering. It brought forth a weight in my chest that I was sure I'd felt before.

But where...? And how? And why?

Shaking my thoughts aside, I resumed my walk. The ground underneath me was akin to a forest's, but I could see no trees, only small patches of grass that grew low to the ground. They were strangely green, as well. Too green.

'Halt!' I heard in my head. I complied before I could even think about it.

'Prepare.'

For what...?

I saw the fog lift in front of me, revealing more to the area than I'd seen before, but still enveloped the place beyond the newly visible field.

I looked around for a while, for a chill ran down my spine. Something sinister was watching me from the fog...

My eyes met the ground. Something was written by my feet. I got down on one knee to read it.

'I abide by the rules of this world. My actions are my own and no one else's. I accept this fate of my own free will,' and and 'X' underneath the phrase.

'Cast yourself into this world. Take up the sword and pay your blood', I heard in my head. A sheathed short sword appeared on ground next to me.

I picked it up from the ground. It was light, even within its sheath. Drawing the blade, I could perfectly see my grey eyes and blue hair in the sword's bluish steel.

I knew what I had to do. I took the blade to the palm of my free hand and opened a light cut, only barely allowing blood to flow.

... And it was blue. My blood... was blue.

Clenching my fist, I let the liquid flow into the mark on the ground.

... I bled blue...

'Minato Arisato...' I heard in my head, before the sound of steps came from where I couldn't see.

From beyond the fog stepped forth a blackened being... Easily three times my height, a man with a completely black skin, equally ebony hair which almost hit the ground with its length, taking stance so offensive that it halved his height, and wielding one, two... seven swords...? Each one of them as tall as me. Two in each of his hands, one in his mouth, and two more sheathed by waist. It stared into my soul with two round, unblinking, solid yellow orbs that were where one's eyes would be.

How?!

'Face your fear!' The voice boomed in my head.

I subconsciously took the deepest of breaths and kept it in, breathing but very shallowly as I got up to my feet.

The dread I felt was primal... I was shaking in my boots. The sight of the beast before me pulled at my heart's strings in a way that I feared not only for it, but for something else... I couldn't quite understand my fear, and that frightened me even. This fear of my unknown...

But... I had to raise my sword and fight. I had no choice. And I did... holding my sword with both trembling hands, short as it was.

Before I could think of a strategy, the creature charged towards me with great speed, leaving me almost no time to roll away from its leaping vertical slash.

I felt the wind from the strike from where I stood after dodging... My head lowered slightly as I back away even farther to try and gain space to think. My backwards movement became automatic as my mind drew a blank, and my back eventually hit a wall...

Rather... it hit the fog.

There was no escape...

The creature turned towards me with the same unblinking eyes. It readied the two swords in his right hand in a Iaido stance and dealt a slash at blind speed in the air, sending a sharp razor of wind in my direction.

I held up my sword to try and guard it, somehow, unable to think of anything else. The wind blew me away, causing my back to collide against the fog behind me. I felt the impact and fell to my knees.

The giant swordsman rushed towards me as I tried to get up. Left with no choice, I had to raised a high guard to block its downward strike, even though I knew he'd be quick to overpower me. I didn't give up, however, and desperately tried to summon the strength to push him back. The clash didn't last more than two seconds before he removed his own swords, throwing me off balance. I couldn't even see the slash that came my way. I simply felt a blade slicing at my face, cleanly through my right eye.

"Aaaaaaagh..." I was sent reeling back with a scream of pain. My eye! "My eye!" I couldn't stop screaming. My fear fueled my pain as I took a hand to the wound, painting my hand blue once more.

My eye...

I couldn't take my hand away from my eye, but I did see that the sword the creature held with his mouth was now stained with my blood.

And he wanted more, slowly strolling towards me.

I had no option but to raise my sword with only my left hand to try and defend myself... I had no other option... There was nowhere to run...

My whole body shook.

And he only approached...

He came within striking range and readied a horizontal slash with his two right swords.

I had to do something...! With a pained grunt unnatural to me, I slashed at his swords to try and parry them away. And did to some extent. I managed to stop his attack. Not even bothering to stop, I tried a thrust at the area that I'd opened, which was the right side of his chest...

But he parried my blade upwards, sending it flying high into the fog above, using his left blades. Then he rose up to full height and raised his leg, only to come down stomping me on the chest and pinning me to the ground.

Not only the air left my lungs forcefully, but blood began obstructing my throat as I tried to scream. My voice only came out as a cough which hurt my chest even more. I was sure something had broken inside me...

The monster stared me down before it drew one of his sheathed swords and pointed it down at me.

I would still be shaking if I could... My working eye did, at least.

That was the end...

He thrust his sword down on me...

...

...

'Do not be afraid.'

...

...

I woke up once more...

The first thing I noticed was my sword besides me.

Then my eyes.

And then that I was alive, again.

... Was I?

The fog around me was gone. Or was it me that was gone from there...?

The place was completely different.

Marble floor, massive pillars, two sets of stairs leading up...

And seemingly no exit. At least none in sight.

"Greetings," I heard a feminine voice behind me. I quickly shot up to my feet and faced her...

It was a beautiful woman clad in blue with long, platinum blonde hair and red lips. "My name is Margaret. I am the one who rules over power

Welcome to the Home Of The Brave."

So, first things first: This fic is gonna be completely out there. It's gonna be kinda crazy, full of mysteries and stuff. I also plan it to be kinda long. A lot of things will happen here, so... yeah. Also, you may have noticed the Dark/Demon's Souls influence. Yeah, that is there, but it's not a crossover. Just the influence. Opinions in the review box below, I'm Raidou the 16th and I approve this message *thumbs up*. See ya at whatever I write next.