Disclaimer: I do not own Disgaea. I tried my best with the prologue, but I'm kinda lousy with beginnings. Have mercy, and enjoy the fic. RxR.
Prologue-
It was a place of infinite calm, a great void that existed all throughout the Netherworld. It was the place everyone who gate travels has been to, but has never seen. It was the darkness inside of all of the souls of the living, and the sins of the dead that had congealed into an almost tangible form. It was in this sad, quiet place—where everything and nothing happened all at once—where the evil one lived.
Well, okay, technically he was frozen and left for dead in this great divide, but since his heart was still able to beat once per century, we have to say he's alive. Some might think this is a trifling detail. They have never been more wrong. It is very, VERY important that we all know that this nameless evil is alive.
In the heart of this wasteland, the evil one lay entombed in the statue of what looked like a young angel girl, perhaps three years old. She wore a ribbon in her hair and a frilled dress, but her feet were bare, and her face was flooded with innocence. Traditionally, every angel wore the cross on their clothing, and right where this angel girl wore her cross—along her abdomen, sewn into her one-piece ensemble—the evil one was bound within the seams. His own face was calm, as if being in this girl's prescence was a balm for his many hurts. "One day," he breathed to himself. "It will come soon."
Almost as if in answer to his words, a shadow flitted out of the nothingness. It crawled along the undefinable edges of the place. Soon, it settled at the feet of the statue. "Master?"
"You have come back. After all this time."
"It was in my best interests, sire," the shadow replied.
"Spoken like a true devil, sirrah. Now loose my chains so I can give you the punishment I have planned for you. You know that it will fall upon you one day."
"One day," came the agreeable reply. "But not today. I have news for you."
The evil one shifted his gaze down to the shadow. "It is about the angel?"
"Of course."
"Where is she?"
The shadow hesitated. "It took me a very long time to track the girl down, my lord. As you know, she's been protected by the Seraph Lamington."
"I expected that."
"It was almost impossible to find her. But as time passed, her aura has become more pronounced, and it left a trail out of Celestia…"
"And it leads to?"
"The Overlord's castle…in the Netherworld."
This surprised the evil one. "So close by…"
"The Seraph certainly is a fool, is he not, my lord?"
The evil one merely glanced at the shadow. "The Seraph's magic was part of the reason why I became trapped here. And he has successfully hidden my queen from me while I lay in an almost catatonic state. You wouldn't dare hint that a being with an intelligence that rivals my own is a fool…"
"N-no, sire! Of course not!"
"But no matter. I have you to thank for my convelescence after all."
"I…yes, sire."
"And as soon as I am strong enough to leave this shell, I will find the angel girl…and I will make her pay for breaking me."
"You should also find this interesting," the shadow interjected. "She's actually living with King Laharl. I've been watching her, and they seem close in a way. But I don't think she remembers…well, what she did all those years ago."
"You know this for certain? Don't lie to me, sirrah!"
"It's true! I've been watching her for months. She's happy and unconcerned with the world, and the Overlord pays her more attention than all of his vassals combined."
"Interesting…"
For a while, neither of them spoke. Then the shadow tentatively uttered:
"How long do you think it will be until you are free, master?"
"That depends on how long it will take for you to bring me the girl. If what you say is true, then not only will she be my ticket out of here, but I can enact my revenge on her and use her as a bargaining chip to take the Netherworld. Afterwards, it won't be long until I bring Celestia to its knees as well."
"Very good, master. Very good."
"Yes…now go. I wish to ponder in silence."
"You've been doing that for a long time, my lord. To be frank—"
"I have pondered in silence for many years…and I will continue to do so until I am freed. It is then when the silence will be broken forever. Go."
The shadow obeyed. But as it left the place of the statue, it couldn't drown out the sound of a faint, sinister laughter that floated in the wind. It shivered and vanished from whence it came.