Dark.

That was the only word that could describe anything for him.

Dark...darker...and somehow even more Dark than that...all of which was in complete silence.

Whatever words could have been said were said long ago. Wither it be words of regret, anger, fear, love...they were said already. Leaving only the darkness...void of all feelings or temperature...only silence.

Being here, with no words...one starts to think back on their life. Asking questions like 'was it worth it', 'will she ever come back', 'am I really doing anything by locking myself here'.

But even with all these questions running through one's head...there was always the hope...that gave the answer...'yes'.

But even with the answer of hope...there were times in the darkness...when the doubt came. 'It wasn't worth it', 'She left you behind', 'you're doing nothing, expect being worthless'. The words of doubt would come...digging through one's head.

It was with these times...The black blood child would allow tears. Small tears that would run down their face. The child wanted to cry out, they wanted to give into their own despair, as the thoughts of doubt continued to plague their mind. To open the emergency exit, and let the Madness be their comfort once more.

After all, most of their life was...and still is...spent within it. Now it was given shape, to become their tomb in order to seal away...that pathetic shell of a false god.

Though saying that...the thought of 'who was the pathetic shell?' did enter the child's mind...It was only just more doubt, trying to force its way to the child's soul. But...the child did have something to fight against it.

A memory.

A single memory of one person, was all the child needed. One of a single girl, with green eyes, and blonde hair. It was of her giving a smile that warm the child's black heart, that was the child's hope. The only thing that could ever make the broken small soul of this child, feel even a little alive.

It was with that memory, that the child chose to stay behind here...in the dark...the cold...quiet dark.

Suddenly a noise is heard...it's faint but it's still there...it was the child's ...'prisoner'. The other false god...Asura. The first son of the reaper and the reason why the child was here. As a sacrifice, the demon swordsman would hold him here, trapped within the very same blood that gave him life...the child's black blood.

Though, there wasn't much to understand what the Kishin was doing, as he had tried before to drive the child insane and allow him to escape so much that now would be embarrassing for him to make another attempt. That is all the child thought it was…just another attempt...but then came the feeling of something strange...a shake.

The very ground under the child's feet shook, as if whatever place they were in was moving...or rather...falling. The child lost their sense of balance and falls to the floor, feeling the whole force of something pulling them down...further and further into the dark.

The child tries to scream to give some kind of sound as the feeling of heat and gravity came at them like a ravenous monster. Try as the child could, there was no way for them to pull themselves from the force pushing them into the ground.

And then suddenly...a sound came...the sound of a thundering, and destructive, clash rivaling that of a the largest of earthquakes. Very cities fell, and mountains shook from its collision. Large impacts were made, as if the very sky itself was falling...and in the center of it all...was a black, cocoon-like object.

From then on...many days passed...before days turn to weeks...weeks turn to months...months turn to years...many...many years. For that time, the small crater holding the object was left alone. Even...as the worst of things came, the heaviest of rains, the coldest of winters, the hardest of winds, nothing cause change to the cocoon...or what was living inside it.

It simply stayed where it fell. Ever so softly pulsing, as it were breathing. It's outside was as black as the night, harden to the point where nothing can break through it...yet soft in appearance.

After many years had passed...one day, something changed. The silence of the area...was broken...by a noise...a single impact of something trying to break loose. It came again, and again. For seconds this noise came from within the cocoon...before finally, it creaks...and a hand burst out from inside.

It was all black, and very skinny. Grasping around it in panic, as it began to try and pull itself out of the cocoon...showing the rest of the being. "Agh...agh...agh..." The creature mouthed out, as it pulled itself to its feet, pieces of the cocoon falling around it as if it were made of glass.

The Creature was human looking, looking to have no features on it. Its body was entirely black, looking to be a living silhouette. "agh...agh..." He stood hunched over, as he raised his hands to his head, where his face would be. "Can't see...agh...ah...W-what's going on? I-" A soft...very soft and young voice spoke, before he began to cough.

He reaches forward to his face...and pulls at the black covering it. As the Creature pulled he continued to mutter to himself. "C-can't...breath...something on my face, I...I need to get it off." With a final pull, the black part of the Creature's face was ripped off...showing part of a face of a young human boy.

His black eye quickly looked around in a panic. He sees the black strain of something in his hands, before he continues to rip it off from his face. Shred after shred, piece after piece, the boy lets out a sigh of relief as he finally shows himself...to be The Demon swordsman, Crona.


Crona's Quest


Taking a hesitated step out of the remains of his 'cocoon', Crona looked around himself. "W-where am I?" He asks softly out loud, taking in the...city around him or rather what was left of one. He was standing in the middle of a creaked and broken up street...walking out of a small crater, he could see buildings all around him. With them either being toppled, or just barely standing.

What looked to be derby from it all littered around him. Many of the buildings either had most of their windows broken, or even downright holes going right through them. The sky itself looked...odd. As Crona looked above...he found...the largest mass of clouds he ever seen. It spans for as far as the sky itself, covering everything that could be see above...though it was colorful. The clouds were a light shade of blue, one could even see that small peaks of light going right through it...though there was no sun in sight beyond it.

Crona gave his eyes a hard blink as he tried to take everything in at once. His eyes scanning around him as he didn't understand what he was seeing. "Wait...I'm back...home?" He mutters as he turns around for a bit. "No, wait...how is this possible?" He tries to think, from what he could remember last.

"It was...dark...very dark. I...I heard Asura...he was saying something" He mutters trying to recount everything he could while his mind was still railing from it all. "Then...I felt a shake...and...I was falli-..." He stops for a moment as he looks back to his 'cocoon'...and seeing the impact...he retraces it toward through one of the buildings...seeing a very large hole going through it.

"...I fell...back home." He mutters, taking a few steps back as his eyes widen fully in shock. Letting out a single breath as he leans his back along a fallen part of a building. Trying to make sense as best he could.

He tries to breath, to calm himself down...only for him to quickly threw his hand up to cover his nose and mouth. The stench of sulfur and some else in the air assaulted his nose. Making him gag for breath as the air fought against him.

Trying to fight off the smell as best he could Crona calls out. "H-hello!" His voice echoing all around him, looking around for someone nearby. Or at least the source of the smell...both of which he found nothing of. Crona then begins to a take a step forward...followed by another.

Looking around as he does.

Several minutes of time passed as the demon swordsman walked on through the streets of the disturbed city. With ever second or so he would call out again. "H-hello...anybody?!" He would call out over and over again. Yet there was no one to answer him, even as he passed what looked to be apartments or stores...no one responded to him.

Crona let's his head drop slightly, looking down with disappointment in his eyes. He hoped for answers...for someone to point him in the right direction...and yet nothing came. He stops all movement, standing in place as he gives a blank stare around him once more.

Questions of what had happened enter his mind. What happened, where was he, how did he escape, what about Asura, is he alone, is there no one else here, how long was he gone, and finally...and most important to him...

If this happened also to...Death city. Crona quickly placed his hands to either side of his head as he thoughts of his friends came. Worry and fear shooting right through his whole body, making him shake and twitch. He began to mumble to himself. Pulling up names of all the people he knew. "-Liz, Patty, BlackStar, Mr. Spirit, Mr. Stein, Ms. Marie, Mak-" He stops himself and most important name came.

Suddenly his knees became weak...and he falls to the floor on them. Sweat began to form, as his teeth chattered against each other, as his eyes dilated to a pale color. "No...no...no...no,no,no,no,no,no,NO!" Crona spoke with obvious pain in his voice.

Desperately shaking his head to stop the thoughts before they can enter his already broken mind. The thoughts of awful things that could have happen. His grip increases on his fingers as they dug into his head, as he continued to shake it...trying his hardest for his own fears to not corrupt the beautiful memories he had of her. He refused them to do that. He didn't want that poison, that filth anywhere near the image of her. Anywhere near his hope.

Crona pulls one hand away...and drives back a fist, right to the side of his skull. A loud impact was made against his head, the simple sound of the hit easily destroyed any silence in the whole block of the ruined city. Before it is followed by another...and another loud slam. As Crona gives out madness filled punches to his own head. As if it were some desperate plea to stop his mind...which it was.

As Crona pulls back to give out another punch, his eighteenth so far...suddenly he stops...and looks up in surprise at his own hand…as a familiar voice spoke to him. "I take ONE nap for five fucking minutes...and you're trying to cave in your own skull?!" A fierce, and heavily annoyed voice screamed in Crona's head. A voice that brought...a tear in his eye.

"R-Ragnarok?" Crona ask out loud to voice, it slightly quivering as he lets his hands fall to his sides. "No, I'm the Easter Bunny here to give you colored eggs from my non-existent ass!" Ragnarok says back, as Crona quickly moves to his feet with a look of complete relief and happiness.

"Ragnarok I...I miss you so much." He tells him as he holds a hand over his heart. Feeling his heartbeat become erratic for a moment, as Ragnarok spoke. "Aww that's sweet. Now would you kindly tell me, what the fuck happened here?! Seriously I don't remember jack and shit...and jack seems to have left town, because shit is everywhere." Ragnarok remarks, as he could see through Crona's eyes at the destroyed city around them.

Ignoring Ragnarok's comment on the town's wellbeing, Crona ask. "You don't remember? What is the last thing you do remember?" He could hear Ragnarok give an annoyed groan for a moment as he responds. "Shit...em...Actually...I barely remember anything. Last thing I can piece together was when that you gave that thing to Ms. One eye. A lot after that is...pretty fuzzy." He admitted, sounding slightly unsure of himself.

"W-what, you don't remember anything after that?!" Crona says, in complete shock by his partner's words. "Well I still remember you being a little bitch, so at least that hasn't change." Ragnarok replies to him, making Crona look to the floor.

For a moment Crona became silent, as he moves to grip a hand over his right arm. Remember all that happened after that...'mistake' of his. Crona wanted badly to just pretend that nothing happened...but he knew Ragnarok wasn't that dumb to believe anything he could come up with...and he also knew that he wasn't that good of a liar anyway.

"So, you just gonna stand there holding yourself, or you gonna tell me what the fuck happened? Preferably while we are NOT just standing around in the middle of a destroyed street!" Ragnarok said, making Crona give a nod...as he takes one step forward and begins to explain.

He told Ragnarok all that happened to them afterward. Being slightly surprise as Ragnarok stayed quiet most of the time, aside from a few 'comments' that only he would throw every now and again. As Crona spoke, he continued to walk as well. Moving passed building after building, occasionally making turns when he needs to. As they walked to what looked to be a completely over grown park Crona reached the end of his recollection.

"-and then...I just woke up from that...black sphere and then I was...back here, home I guess we can call it." Crona says, stopping as he still was holding his right arm, while he shrugged. After a long pause Ragnarok then said. "Okay...so let me just...pull this all in..." He tells Crona, sounding to be...having a mix of feelings right now.

"...We pretty much committed genocide...on a WHOLE city...Gonna take a moment to process tha-okay moment over, WHAT THE FUCK?!" He shouts, making Crona's head recoil back a little from the sheer volume of his voice. "I-I-" He tries to reply before Ragnarok continues, but he never gets a chance. "I mean shit! And then what else...oh yeah...we pretty much MURDERED a Meister and, more importantly a DEATH SCYTHE! We could do that?!"

Crona gives a low sigh, as he moves to a near-by large rock. Taking a seat on it as Ragnarok began to go though his freak-out. "And-and-and what the hell does a clown have to do with anything?! That doesn't even make sense! And it was because of him...we were able to use more madness for me to form a third arm?! I needed a clown for that?!"

Crona looks down along himself and sees the black substance was covering from his neck below, over his whole body like some kind of skin tight wrap, all the way to his hands and feet. With a slightly shaking right hand, Crona moves it over his left, slowly ripping off the black substance that covered it...and letting out a small sigh of relief when he sees his hand was normal underneath it.

"And then we...we KILLED Medusa, which by the way, REALLY freaked me out with how you told me that all calm...and even as I'm say it now, you really don't seem at all fazed by it! Oh my god...why did you go into DETAIL about it!? You literally explained each time you stabbed me into her!" He shouts as Crona continuing with the other hand, allowing both his hands free from the black substance that was covering them. As he closes his hands, letting him feel his own fingers move along his palm for the first time in a long while he said. "I...I know how I made it sound...but I just thought you wanted to be sure." He tells him, with Crona feeling Ragnarok move along inside him as if he was running around in a panic.

"WELL, I guess I got no reason to NOT be unsure about her death. I mean, you explained in very great detail how she bleed out on the floor as saying she was proud of us. Ughhh..." Ragnarok says with a shudder at the end that sent at small chill up Crona's spine.

Giving a quick shake of his head to get rid of the feeling Crona moves his legs up to his chest and calls out to the Demon Sword. "Ragnarok please, calm down." But he could feel Ragnarok was nowhere near done at this point. "How are you not freaked out from this?! But you know what, FINE...let's move passed that...to the big 'WAIT WHAT' of them all. We fought...a fucking god...and won!" He shouts with Crona feeling him, as if he was throwing his arms around wildly from inside him.

"Um...we only won because-" Crona tries to say, before Ragnarok loudly shouts. "SHUT UP! Don't try to over complicate it, we won that's what manners." Ragnarok tells him, sounding to be both angered and confuse at once. "Still trying to wrap my head around being on the moon, so the least you talk about that can of worms, the better."

Crona tilts his head a little as he asks. "Can of worms?" From inside Ragnarok could be heard giving a groan. "...ugh...Never mind." They stood in silence for a moment, leaving Crona to reach for his feet, ripping apart the black substance from them, showing that they were bare. He stopped just above his ankles, seeing closer how the black substance was wrapped around him, much like his robe. Only...not. For a brief second Crona wonder just what was he covered in, as what it felt like was thick and even a little sticky, and with what he ripped off...it seemed to just...fall apart when away from him...but he didn't have long to think of that as Ragnarok spoke.

"So...let me ask, at the moment...was there really nothing better you can think of then screwing both of us over?" He asks, as Crona lightly touches his feet back to the floor...avoiding small rocks that were there. "What are you talking abou-" "You know damn well, what the fuck I'm talking about. Being such a hero and sacrificing yourself...and by hero, I mean idiot." Ragnarok says in a near-sarcastic tone.

Crona just looked to the floor for a moment, as he moved his hand back to gripping is right arm. "I mean, seriously man. I cannot believe you did something THAT stupid! And for what, that stupid cow-" "D-Don't talk about her like that!" This time it was Crona that interrupted, as he squeezed his arm tighter.

If Ragnarok could gag, now would be a perfect time to. "Oh now, you can talk back! God...I just can't believe you do something like that, at least without even talking to me about it!" He says as Crona moves to his feet along the floor slightly, before moving to stand up.

He begins to walk down alongside what seems to be a park. "Y-you...weren't around." Crona tells him as his eyes scan around. Looking through the park. The plant life seemed...off. It was overgrown and oddly colored. Crona could feels as if the very life surrounding it all was breathing...pulsing...ready to drag in whatever it may deem as food. He takes a small step away from it, just in case.

"And you never thought to ask, 'where's Ragnarok' or 'Geez things are pretty boring without that amazing Ragnarok around'."Crona wanted to sigh as he hears Ragnarok complain, turning his attention away from the park he holds a hand to the side of his head and mutters. "...I wasn't myself at the time."

Though that only seemed to annoy Ragnarok even more as he shouted. "Geez, I could have told you that. When did you notice, was it after the whole drowning city in black blood or murdering Medusa that you went 'Wait a fucking minute, something's wrong'?" Crona gave his shoulder a small nudge as he feels Ragnarok moving around him again.

"Ragnarok...why won't you come out?" He ask, as he continues to feel the demon sword navigating through his own body. Ragnarok gives an agitated cry as he tried to force his way through Crona's back. Crona waited feel his skin break, expect for Ragnarok to give form...only he didn't. "Damn it, damn it, damn it! I can't get out!" He shouts...sounding a bit tired while doing so. Although this was bad...it did also make Crona almost thankful as that would mean Ragnarok wasn't gonna take his anger out on him physically.

...Didn't mean that he still wasn't gonna do it vocally. "Great just fucking amazing! First, I wake up from the best nap of my life, only to find your stupid ass got us stuck on the fucking moon for who knows how long, then you tell me probably some of the most biggest piles of shit we've have to step on, which apparently I missed out on, and now I can't even stretch my fucking nonexistent legs, and on top of all that, the planet is apparently a post-apocalyptic fuckhole where we don't even KNOW WHAT HAPPENED! I mean come the fuck-"

Crona wished so badly that he could hold his hands over his ears, and silent Ragnarok's ranting...but he knew that only upset him even more. So he could only listen on as the Demon sword began to complain about everything around them, mostly how everything seemed to resemble 'cow feces' to him. From the rocks on the road to the buildings around them. While it was a rather childish way of doing it...Crona knew better, knowing that this was just Ragnarok adjusting to everything around him but as he continued to describe things around them...Crona realizes something.

All along the buildings, and the shops that filled the streets, of all the pieces of debris and glass that was on the floor, throughout all the streets to even the destroyed wrecks of what could be even cars or other types of machines...Crona noticed...if something bad happen here...something was missing. "Where's the blood?"

Ragnarok paused mid-rant as he hears Crona words and ask. "Wait, what?" Crona turns to look behind him and at all he walked passed as he spoke to Ragnarok. "...T-there's no blood at all." Crona says as he remembers back to all that he walked...and as far as he could tell...not a single drop of the liquid was to on the floor or walls of all he saw.

Crona and Ragnarok were no strangers to destruction...they know the kind of horrible things that could happen during something as simple as an earthquake, but for all this to happen and not find a body or even a single drop of blood in sight...was too odd not to question. "Wait a minute...That's not right." Ragnarok says, with Crona slightly nodding his head. "L-look around...I mean, the buildings are all destroyed with a lot of them looking close to falling over...and there's so much broken things around that must have fallen from them..." He says with Ragnarok finishing for him as they both looked up to a building that was slightly tilted to the side. "And to believe that not a single person got hurt by it, is total bullshit. Now...where are bodies and blood?"

The two became very confuse by this...so much so, that as Crona was keeping his back to the park...he didn't notice that some of the vines from the tree...began to move. "Maybe...everyone managed to get out before what happened came." Crona offered, though he could feel Ragnarok stir inside him...as if he was shaking his head.

"No, that's not right. I mean look at the size of some of these buildings...this is a big city, that would be impossible to see that everyone got out. There would still be looters and shit...and yet we didn't even pass a fucking body or anything here...what is there a guy cleaning after everything around here?" Crona gives him a small shrug, as he looks up to the sky. Seeing how it was still covered in odd light blue clouds with barely a few bits of light poking through it all. "I'm worried Ragnarok." Crona tells him, as sees the unmoving clouds weren't even that high up...only just above some of the buildings, with a few even being tall enough to stab into the clouds themselves.

"Well...at least we can agree that this can't get anymore fucked." Ragnarok says...before suddenly a snapping sound is heard and Crona feels a rope-like object wrap around his neck, and wrists. Before he could even realize what it was, Crona is forcefully dragged from behind by a powerful yank. Dragging passed several trees and bushes into the overgrown park. Giving a high yelp at the sudden pull, is taken by surprise as he sees all the plant life he passed...move on their own, covering the entrance that it dragged him through. "Oh, I just had to fucking say something!"

Crona tries to grab on the floor, for anything to stop himself. His hand landed along a tree root and he quickly tries to grab on to it...only for it to make itself slip through his hands. Crona gives a small shout as he thrown across the park, his back slammed into a tree trunk. He was pinned there, as his arms were forced back, still be pulled from the vines. "W-wha-" He tries to speak only for the vine around his neck to tighten.

He tries to pull his arms from vines...Only able to bring them so far in front of him with strength he didn't even knew he possessed. Just then his eyes look ahead...as he could see the wild life around him begin moving closer to him. As if the branches were actually the hands of long slender creatures...and the bushes were just costumes for small hairy monsters. Crona moves his feet up along the tree trunk and begins to push himself free, feeling the vines along his wrist and neck try pulling back as hard as they could.

Crona grins his teeth as he throws himself forward...before suddenly crying out in shock as he falls face first to the floor. "...ow." He mutters as he moved to his knees and saw the vines on his wrist and neck were snapped apart, most likely from stain of him pulling back. Before he could even react to being free, the ground underneath him erupts as roots shoot out of it.

Wrapping around his hands and feet and slamming him back, face first to the ground. Crona press his hands to the floor as he tries to push himself back up, Ragnarok screaming something within him, that he couldn't pay attention to right now as he sees more and more plant life close in around him.

As Crona struggles against the roots holding his arms down, he couldn't help the random memory of this kind of scenario that he once saw in an old movie, with a girl in the woods...with evil trees as they-...Crona's eyes widen slightly as the memories plays. "Hey, was I the only one that suddenly remember that one girl from Evil De-" "Not helping Ragnarok!" Crona shouts back, as a faint blush grows on his face, as he continues to fight off the plants. "How you think I feel, you're getting your ass handed to you by fucking Mother Gaia here, and I CAN'T DO SHIT!" Ragnarok shouts in a more panicked tone with Crona feeling that he was still trying to form out of somewhere of his body.

It was there Crona and him both hear the leaves above them shake, with Crona turning his head to see from the corner of his eyes...as the trees on top open to reveal...a very...very large plant.

It...looked like a plant with roots and vines growing out of it. Yet...he could also see that it wasn't. There were parts of it that just looked weird, and mixed together almost as if it were painfully melted together into one shape. Crona could make out its Crocodile-like snout, and jaw with its many teeth sticking out of it...even some coming right along the outside jaw as if it were poking out of the skin or had grown over it. It had no eyes, but had small horns coming from its head. Along its sides were spider-like arms...that were continuingly dripping with slime.

"...oh, what the fuck is that?!" Ragnarok says in disbelief as Crona freezes upon seeing the large plant monster. "I-it's a b-big p-plant monsterrrrr!" Crona screams as suddenly the monster shoots several of its vines out to, wrapping around him and shoving him straight up into its open mouth, eating him whole.

...or so it would have. As Crona enter its mouth...the creature seemed...to gag and wheeze...till suddenly it spats out Crona, sending back face first into the floor, covered with slime from the creature's mouth. It keeps giving out small whining sounds as it closes the leaves around it, disappearing from sight.

"HEY, YOU'RE NO, FUCKING FILET MIGNON EITHER ASSHOLE!" Ragnarok shouts as Crona moves to a seating position, raising a leg up as he noticed a part of black substance covering him was ripped open...allowing his left leg to be completely free with it just barely covering his 'privates'. Not that Crona really paid mind to that...as he was currently more focus on the slime covering him from head to toe.

"Ew...I...I don't know how to deal with...this gross stuff." He mutters while covering his mouth to give a small cough. A disgusted look was on his face as he pulls his hand back and sees the see-through slime was connecting from his chin to his hand. "Gross, gross, gross!" Crona shouts as he throws his hands aside trying to get rid of the slime covering him.

He could hear Ragnarok give out a groan within him as he says. "Oh, quit being a pussy about it." Crona slowly moves from his seating position on the floor, holding his hands up to his chest level as he watches slime drip from then. "Ugh...why is it sooo cold?!" Crona mutters as he feels the slime drip down from his hair, to his cheek...sending a chill down his spine.

Suddenly Crona notices a few roots on the floor begin to shake...and the plant beast burst from the floor right under Crona knocking off to the side and hitting his back to a tree trunk. It gave a few small wheezing noises before turning to Crona, a menacing air around it as its wheezing turns to a low hissing noise.

Slightly discombobulated from impact of his head to the tree, Crona looks ahead right as the plant Beast moves to strike.

It was for a single moment, a moment so fast only a few would be able to catch it. As Crona sees the beast heading directly to him, he held his arm up defensively from fear, a flash came before his eyes as the beast large fang filled mouth came closer to him...it was an image of the same memory that he held onto during his time on the moon, of the one that saved him from his madness. In the instant that came...something in Crona leaped into action...and from his black eyes came the smalls glimmer of light...

...before it leaps from Crona's eyes, drilling perfectly through the creature's head...the pure force of it alone was enough to send Crona's entire body to the tree, and force his head further against the very floor...outside the overgrown park...two skinny black pillars could be seen, shoot up along the floor to the sky, reaching far out to the city beyond...and cleanly cutting through trees, the ground, and even whole buildings as if they were paper.

As they reached the heavens above the destroyed city, it cut clean through the mass of clouds, paving way for the light to shine through for a moment...till the pillars disappear.

Crona kept his eyes forward, looking up to the two skinny paths, that were clear cut through enough for one to see the sky passed them. He could hear loud sounds of destruction as the ruined buildings fell to the floor. Leaving large dust clouds that could be seen, even from where he was. As he turns his head down, he feels his mouth dry and his throat close on itself...as he sees the plant creature...completely destroyed. Two long cravens of drilled through its body, and ripped open through the top of it.

There weren't any words he could say for what happened. As all he saw before the force of what happened knocked his head back...was everything becoming black in his vision. Luckily for him, Ragnarok was more than happy to fill him in. "...Did you just shoot fucking lasers from your eyes?"

"What?" Crona ask barely catching what Ragnarok said as he pulls his legs up, using the tree for support as he moves to stand to his feet, the slime still dripping from him slightly as he gives a few shakes to get rid of it. "I-I don't know what happened." He tells the Demon Sword, as he looks back to the tree tops, seeing the two long paves he made.

He could see the clouds moving to cover the long paves, as if to hide the light from escaping.

Crona holds a hand up to his eyes...he stops as he feels...blood on his cheek. Two strains of blood were leaking down from his eyes. "W-what? H-h-how did I-" "Don't question it!" Ragnarok was quick to shout to Crona, making him pause as he was moving a hand over one of his eyes.

"Why not?" Crona ask, as he wipes the 'bloody tears' from his cheeks. "Look, when something THAT FUCKING AWESOME, just happens...you don't question it...EVER!" Crona feels himself cringe at Ragnarok's shout, before he lets out a small sigh. Becoming internally worried as he looks off the side and begins to walk through the overgrown park, looking for an exit.

Several minutes passed as Crona was holding himself. Trying to be mindful of all that surrounded him as he stepped pass and around several trees. Making sure the plant life around him wouldn't attack again.

His plan was to find the way he was dragged from, or at least any other way out. He was also trying to keep his mind off what had happened with his eyes. With him never having done something like that before...it really started to worry him what that could mean. For a moment, Crona thinks that maybe he was still going through changes with his body. Something not too far off after all the ones he went through during his...more maddening days.

He didn't have long to think on that as suddenly he hears a faint sound.

Thinking it was another plant monster, Crona looks around in a panic. "Oh no, not again." He mutters in fear...but stops as he hears that the sound was coming not from above him nor under him, but instead near him along the ground. He turns to the direction of the sound finding it behind several vines and tree branches that were in the way.

Thinking it be better to see what it is, then to be surprised by it, Crona gently pushes them aside...as he does he is shock as he sees...another strange monster. This one looking like a mix with a frog and…a normal person.

It seemed to be in the middle of digging through what looked to be wrecked small plane, which was half-way stinking in what looked to be a more swampish area. Its skin had a weird wet look to it, and had a slightly gray-ish and green coloring to it. It had long web fingers, that each had shape black claws at the end. The feet were exactly like that of a frog, with it being noticeably paler on its large toes.

As it stood up to its feet, Crona could see its head and outfit more clearly...and making his eyes widen in shock. It waved a hand through its long, straight, silvery hair and gave a small 'ribbit' sound. Along it's body was an old ruined thigh length black dress with a white polka dot pattern, with most of its colored faded. But what grabbed Crona's attention the most from it... as his eyes scanned its body...they stop as they see what it was placing on its head.

A distinctive orange hat with a frog-like face on it.

He's seen that hat before...Crona held a hand to his head for a moment, trying to think of the reason why the creature's hat seemed familiar...till a memory came to him. A very old one. He knew he saw that hat before...it was on someone that he saw not a lot of...the witch that Medusa had force to join them in exchange for her not to die.

The Frog witch, Eruka.

"...What happened to her?" Crona mutters as remembers back to how she looked compare to now. "What are we looking at? Did a guy seriously get so lonely that he fucked a toad or something?!" Ragnarok ask within Crona's head as he saw the frog girl as well.

Crona pulls back a little in shock from Ragnarok sudden comment, before whispering to him. "T-that's Eruka!" A small silence followed as Crona stared at the floor, waiting for Ragnarok's response. He didn't wait long as Ragnarok replied. "...who?"

"T-t-the frog witch!" Crona says, a little bit louder and quickly looking back to make sure that she didn't hear him. "Not ringing any bells." Ragnarok tells him as they both watch as the frog girl gave a kicked to some of planes parts...looking to be frustrated about something.

"The one that awaken the Kishin, with the black blood!" Crona continues to tell Ragnarok as the Frog gives another 'ribbit' sound, and begins to walk off from their sight. "Ehhhhhh...one more, give me one more."

Getting annoyed by him, Crona nearly shouts. "She's the one Medusa sent when she forced us to betray our friends!" Ragnarok gives a small sound of realization at this. "Ohhhhh...well...go after her!"

"W-what!?" Crona says he shock as he could feel Ragnarok push along the muscles of his back, making Crona nearly fall forward before he could catch himself. "Come on numb nuts, use that head of yours! If that really is her, then she can tell us what the fuck happened while you trapped us on the moon and everything went to hell. Unless of course you want to try your luck and maybe find another one of those killer weed monsters that nearly ate us, and ask it! Till then... follow that toad bitch!" Ragnarok shouts urging Crona to following the Frog girl.

"B-but what if that isn't her! S-she could be a monster that's wearing her clothi-" Crona tries to say back, becoming nervous as this is really the first other living thing he's come across and not wanting to fight her. "You can shoot lasers from your eyes, your fear is invalided. GO PUSSY!" Ragnarok shouts back, as he gives Crona's back another shove.

Crona became hesitant for a moment as he watches the frog girl leave behind the wreckage. While it's true that he wanted to know what she was doing here, and what had happened to everything since he's been trapped...something about her...really unnerved Crona. Thinking that maybe she wasn't herself, as she might have changed much more than just her appearance.

He could remember back with those few moments where he would see her. She didn't seem that bad of a person...but he would also remember how quick a witch may change their personality. Something he learned from his Mother very early in his life. To say he didn't trust her was easy...but...

He wanted answers...no, he needed answers.

Taking a deep breath, Crona gives a determine look...as he walks through the branches and bushes...not noticing the sudden drop off ...resulting in him falling face first right into the thigh-high swamp water. Quickly moving to his hands and knees, and spitting out the water that enter his mouth Crona could hear Ragnarok say. "Really...fucking heroic, gold star, by the way I think you spooked her." Ragnarok says as Crona quickly looks up, seeing the frog girl look at him in shock, before quickly turning around and running off.

"Wait!" Crona calls out as he pulls himself from the water and gives chase after her. With her having the advantage as she was seemed to be hopping left and right. Using nearby floating logs, or floating parts of the plane to leap ahead. Easily making it back to land, before Crona could as she breaks into a ran. "Hurry, we're losing her!" Ragnarok shouts as Crona trying to keep up with the frog girl as best he could. Just making it to land as he rushes after he, deeper into the swamp. "Wait, I just want to talk to you!" Crona yells out to her, as she rushes past trees and brushes...easily rushing passed them as if she had done this many times by now.

Crona follows her as best he could. Moving past all the trees and brushes that she had, just barely catching small glimpse of her as she was quick to try and break eye-contract with him. "Please! Stop running!" Crona calls out, as he tries not to trip along the many roots that filled the wet ground.

"Damn it, slow down you bitch!" Ragnarok shouts as the frog girl was not letting up. Crona wasn't either, not even stopping to think anymore. Only thing that was leading him now was instinct and frustration as the chase starts to become drawn out...Crona began to notice that his visibility was starting to worst...as the two begin to enter a more fog filled area of the swamp.

What little glimpse that he could catch, were become much harder to see. Forcing Crona to start relining more on his sense of hearing, just barely able to make out her wet feet hitting the ground or the old bark of a tree. But he refused to lose her. She might have his answers. The answers to what happened, and what became of the rest of the world. Of what happened to his hope.

Without even realizing it, Crona started to get faster. Much faster than before...as he was starting to close the distance between himself and the frog girl. Without even thinking, and barely fast enough for his eyes to keep up with, Crona rushes past the trees and their long branches, hoping over piles of roots before they could even slow him down.

Crona's mind became focus, only on his target. Only on his answers. His body now on auto pilot. Without even realizing it, the frog girl takes a sudden turn left. As Crona turns to follow her, the moment his foot touches the ground...his own momentum was what made him slip along the mucky wet dirt.

Or rather slide, right into a large tree trunk. Not that Crona would let that stop him. Letting his shoulder take the impact, Crona didn't even let it affect him. As he continues to give chase, not even taking the moment to realize the large dent he had made along the tree.

He just keeps running. He can see as fog was getting thicker, he was losing more visibility on the frog girl. He could see though that he was getting close, almost enough that he could reach out and touch her, just a foot away. Something she wasn't gonna allow, as she suddenly leaps upward, right into the tree tops, completely out of Crona's sight. "NO WAIT!" Crona shouts, not stopping still as the girl left his eye sight.

"Ah, darn it!" Crona growls as he slams a fist to the tree as he runs past it, leaving a dent in it. He didn't stop running though, as he kept moving forward. He could almost make out the sounds of her moving up above him, right on the branches from above. Jump from one after the other.

He could see the pattern she was heading, without even thinking hard on it Crona rushes a bit forward and slams his shoulder into a tree in front of him. His thought being that if he predicted what tree she was gonna use for its branches next, that he could hit and cause her to lose her balance and fall. Which is what happened.

...what he wasn't expecting was that, the tree would also fall with her. Crona instantly jumping out of the way as the large impact he made in the tree trunk was too much for it, the tree literally fell on itself as if someone was spending hours chopping away on it. "Holy shit." Ragnarok says within Crona's head, before they both saw the frog girl standing up from within the tree leaves.

She was holding her head, looking a bit confuse by what happened, as the large impact of the tree was enough to help clear the fog that was around it a bit. Though that didn't help her see from behind, as the pink haired demon swordsman tackle her down. Gripping around her arms and stomach, while staying on top of her. "Stop running! I only want to talk to you!" Crona says, trying to keep his grip on her wet skin as best he could.

"Get off! Let go of me damn it!" The frog girl shouts as she tries to wiggle out of Crona's arms, with little success on her part. Crona just tightens his hold on her as he hears her voice, completely conforming it for him on who it is. "Please Ms. Eruka stop!" Crona shouts, as suddenly he feels the frog girl freeze in his arms.

She looks back at him, with her milky eyes completely widening in shock. "H-how do you know my name?!" It was there Crona lets go of her and pulls back, moving to his feet as he raises his hands to his chest so he wouldn't scare her away again. "Do you remember me?" He asks, trying not to make any sudden movements as best he could. Remembering how easy it was for her to get spooked.

"My n-name is Crona...Lad-...Medusa's child." At the name of the snake witch, Eruka shoots up to her feet in a full panic, taking a few steps back from him in horror. "P-Please tell me if you remember me." Crona says, as he lowers his head slightly. Her eyes looking at him, up and down as if she were trying to remember him at all.

After a small moment...her eyes widen slightly. "Oh...oh my god...I think it really is you. How is this possible?" She says, leaning back slightly as the memories came to her. Of the child that would follow behind Medusa, looking frighten and scared of nearly everything around him. "S-so you do remember me?!" Crona says, with a relieved look on his face.

The Frog girl, just holds a hand up to her lips for a moment. "...I do...ribbit...but how is this possible? Last time I saw you was...no...no something isn't right here." She says, quietly as she looks up and down at Crona again. "...wow, I can't believe it. It's been...so long since I've seen another person." She says, stepping closer to Crona for a moment, making the boy slightly nervous.

He gets stiff as he sees her reach her hands for him, expecting her to hit him...but is shocked as she just grabs his shoulders. "This is amazing! It's been years since I've talked to another person. Come on, let's get you out of the cold here." She says, moving closer to him as she begins to walk forward...leading him through the fog.

Crona felt himself shiver a little at her touch, feeling her web fingers along his back. He had to ignore his first thought in getting away from her. Right now, he needed her to talk to him, and he couldn't do that while running away from her just because her touch felt weird. Pushing aside his paranoid feeling, he let the frog girl lead him through the dense fog, noticing how she seem to know where she was going perfectly.

Easily stepping over roots, and even a few mud puddles on the ground, with the knowledge of only someone that has been through this kind of land for a long...long time. The entire time they walked, Eruka never let go of Crona. Holding her hand right on his back, something Crona really wasn't happy about...neither was Ragnarok.

Crona's reasoning being how her skin felt through his black substance of a robe. Her skin was wet, and felt much like the slime he was...and still kinda is...covered in. Also, how she seemed to be...'copping a feel' of him, as Ragnarok might put it, with her giving small...pushes with her fingers. He just didn't know how to deal with her...touching him like this.

Meanwhile Ragnarok on the other hand. "Stop fucking shaking like a kitten for five seconds! I'm getting motion sickness in here!" He shouts, making Crona jump a little at his suddenness. "S-sorry!" Crona says, not even realizing that he was doing so. "For what, ribbit?" Eruka says, looking to Crona with a confuse look at his sudden apology.

"N-nothing." Crona stutters out as he looks away from her...just in time for them to stop at what seemed to be...some kind of home, one in the middle of a pond with some skinny rickety bridge leading to it. Walking across it, Crona nervously looks around him... he didn't know how to deal with this place.

The feeling of the wet and moldy wood underneath his bare feet as he walked on, the fog that surrounded the area around them, the way the home looked...it all seemed to be ripped straight out of some kind of horror movie...though then again looking at Eruka again, he might say that is fitting given her monster appearance.

Speaking of the home...it was in poor state, having a very crumbled look to it with what looking to be mud and sticks holding it from caving in on itself. Walking up to the door, or rather a plank of wood that was just leaning on the opening, Eruka moves it aside and walks in. "Come on in, make yourself comfortable." She says, moving aside for him as he nervously steps in from behind her.

If he had thought the outside was bad, the inside looked to be in even worst condition. Whatever she has used for the walls looked as if they were close to falling apart, with only the ground underneath instead of a floor, there didn't even seemed to be rooms...just one big circular spot. In the middle of it all is what looked to be a camp fire, with a dirty looking pot over it. "Wow...and the award for biggest dump goes to..." Ragnarok says with Crona feeling him move, as if he were crossing his arms.

Crona didn't have long to think of his comment as Eruka was placing back the 'door' in place. "It's not much, but it beats sleeping outside." She says as she walks pass Crona, grabbing his shoulder and dragging him near the pot. It was there he noticed the small dirty towel on the floor. "Have a seat, I bet Dinner is almost done." She says gesturing to the towel for him to sit...to which Crona complied.

As he sits down he watches as Eruka moved about the room, or rather hopped around. She seemed to be looking for something as she looked with closed mud-made cabinets and shelves that looked ready to fall apart from off the walls...and given that the walls themselves looked like that, Crona guess that wouldn't be long.

He notices as she was moving around that she was muttering something under her breath. "Damn it, damn it, damn it...where are they, I know they should be here som-HEY, HOW ABOUT A BATH!?" She suddenly shouts, as she twists herself around to face him, nearly giving Crona a heart attack.

"W-what?!" He says slightly panicky as Eruka just hops near him and leans in close. A bit too close, as her nose was nearly pressing against his neck, making Crona lean away as she begins to sniff him. Her face then lilts up, with a large smile as she says. "Come on, l-let me just get you a bath. I mean, come on. You really stink." She says, holding her nose to show her point.

With Crona having to stop himself from giving a...Ragnarok-like reply. "It ain't like you smell any better, you toad bitch! I don't even have a nose here, and I know everything around here makes shit smell like well cooked bacon in comparison." Though not as...colorful word wise, Crona's was in agreement with Ragnarok's words. Everything around them smelled terrible, though not as bad as in the city.

Eruka pushed on though pretty much begging him, and before Crona could tell he was pushed back outside, to what looked to a small hole in the ground that was not at all that deep. Probably the size of a 'kiddie pool' at best, smaller than one at worst.

"Um...is this your bath?" Crona ask, as he turns to Eruka, who was starting to look nervous now as she was holding her arms behind her back. A nervous grin plastered on her face as she just stared back at him. The air of uneasiness had followed them to outside and that was easy to see. "Well...it's the cleanest spot here. It's where I usually wash myself, but you can use it too...I can even get you some new clothes, well not new...but better then what you got. I've visited that airplane for quite some time and found a lot of neat clothing. I'll just get them ready for you right now, just hope in!" She says with a bit of a quick pace, before rushing off back into her hut.

Leaving Crona alone in the cold, as the mist just continued to surround them. Looking back at the hole, Crona becomes nervous at the idea of stripping outdoors. Already starting to quiver a little at the idea as he grabs his right arm. "Oh, for fuck sakes." He could hear Ragnarok groan out, before feeling as if he were shoving his insides. "Just jump in you moron!" He shouts, with Crona still not moving. The teen's eyes were still on the watering hole. "Bu-but what if Eruka sees me?!" Crona nearly cries out as he quickly looks back to the hut, noticing that the Frog girl haven't return yet with his 'new' clothing. "Okay fine, don't clean yourself. God knows what the hell kind of syphilis you're getting from all the plant guts, and god knows what in this swamp. I can sure as hell bet you're not smelling good either...probably will start attracting flies...oh shit, you think she would try to eat them when they're close to us? I'm actually curious now!"

A slash sound erupts from there as Crona hops right into the small watering hole at that notion. Though he was still clothed, he didn't care as the thought of having the mutated Eruka using him as a bug lure was a bit too creepy for him to deal with.

"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Ragnarok said, with Crona feeling a slight pain in the back of his head, as if Ragnarok had slap him upside it. Giving a sigh, Crona gives a shiver as he realizes how cold the water was, giving him goosebumps along his skin and making the tight black 'dress' even tighter along his body. Giving a shaky breath, Crona begins to peel the clothing off him...noticing how slimy and uncolored the waist deep water was as he strips himself. Whatever black substance it was, the water seems to make it loose, having it easily be peeled off Crona's body and seeming to...almost instantly break apart into nothing as soon as he places it on the ground near the watering hole.

"...what is this stuff?" Crona wonders out loud as he held up a piece of it, to look more closely at it. Noticing how it wasn't fabric at all, but instead was something else...much like his blood actually. Crona didn't have long to think of it due, as Ragnarok calls out to him. "Hey...you don't think something happened while we were on the moon, right?" He says, with Crona dropping the piece of black substance to the water...watching as it dissolves almost instantly.

"What do you mean?" Crona ask, as he begin to properly rinse himself with the water, giving a small shiver as he begins a handful down on his own head. "I mean...Crona think for a second. Shit seems pretty fucked. You saw how the city was, and not a single body around. What about that shit with the plant?! Last, I checked weeds don't do that. And fucking look at that frog bitch, she's a literally frog bitch!"

Crona nodded his head a little bit, as he brings the water up to rinse his arms. Softly gripping both of them...as he begins to notice something...he wasn't cold anymore...like instantly he wasn't. Like his body became already used to it in an instant. "...that's not all...I feel...weird." He says, as he brings some water up in his hands. Cupping it so that the water wouldn't spill out. "...I never really could run that fast when I was chasing Eruka...and when I hit the tree...it fell over like nothing." Crona says...with Ragnarok supporting him with his comment of "Yeah you also shot fucking laser beam from your eyes when you killed the plant fucker."

Crona lets his hands drop back into the water at that, his face growing slightly gray from embarrassment. "Y-Yeah...that too." He mutters as he takes a small breath afterwards. He then raises a hand to his face, holding his index and middle finger under his eyes. Trying to remember what happened exactly to him. The feeling he had as he was put in danger...but Crona still couldn't understand it.

With his mind drifting like that...his thoughts turn to her...the one that saved him. He imagines her voice; how happy would she be in seeing him again. She promised that she would see her again...oh he wanted it so badly.

To hear her voice, to see her smile, to look right into her eyes and feel safe as her souls is near his. To be near his angel, his hope, once more. Crona would give...anything.

To see her beautiful form, to smell her amazing scent, to hear her wondrous voice, to feel her touch...to be held by her...to be cared by her...

He would do...anything.

Anything to be with her once more.

And Crona silently vows to himself that he would do it...to see his angel, his savoir, his goddess once more. To hold her and never release her to anything. And if anything were to stand between them again...then they will be moved aside...wither it be a witch, Kishin, or even Death himself...Crona will move them all aside for her...just for her.

"Well he should be about do-" Eruka voice calls out, snapping Crona from his thoughts. He quickly looks behind himself, while throwing his arms on his chest in a poor attempt to cover himself. She was standing at her door, looking right at him...a look of shock on her face, as if she couldn't believe her eyes at this.

Thinking it was just his unclothed form, Crona moves deeper in the water, till just his head was viewable. Also, he noticed that Eruka wasn't holding any clothing for him. "U-um...w-where the clothes you said you get?" He asks, slightly nervous with being seen nearly fully nude, hoping that she wouldn't come closer to him.

Luckily for him, it seems that Eruka was busy continuing to stare right at him for a bit longer, as if something was wrong. She seemed snap herself after that as she replied. "Oh right, stupid me, hehehehe." She says nervously as takes her hat off and slaps herself in a playful manner. "I knew I was forgetting something, let me get right back." At that she rushes back inside, leaving Crona alone again for a minute.

"...am I the only one here that thinks something is wrong with this picture?" Ragnarok says, with Crona pressing his chest to the edge of the watering hole, growing a bit suspicious at the frog girl and her actions. "No, I think so too." Crona mutters back to Ragnarok as he takes a brief look around again.

He could feel Ragnarok shift within him, as if he were nodding his head. "Good, so next time she shows her face, laser her!" He shouts, with Crona crying out at the sudden idea. "Ragnarok, be serious!" The demon sword wasn't gonna take the idea off the table, as he says back to him. "I am serious! Come on, for all you know she's planning on eating you...or worst!"

Before Crona to ask what could be worst, Eruka returns with some folded clothing in her arms. "Ribbit, hey Chrona...sorry for the wait, I can be a...bit of a ditz at times, being alone does that to people, hehehe." Crona notes how she speaks, noticing how forced her chuckle was at the end...and seeing as she seems to avoid his eyes...instead she was looking lower, mainly at either the ground near him or to his chest and arms, but not his eyes.

She didn't even say his name right.

Crona had lived with Medusa of all people, living with something like that for your whole life...gave you a bit of a six sense when it came to people wanting to hurt you. And right now...Eruka was starting to earn some red flags from him. Being wary of her now Crona calls out to her. "I-it's okay...can I have the clothes please...I don't know how to deal with being naked." Eruka seem to widen her eyes again at that, this time in realization as she was still holding the clothing she promised him.

"Right, right sorry about that." She says as she walks closer to him, with her being a few feet as Crona suddenly cries out. "T-that's enough!" Halting her right there, where she looked at him a bit confuse before remembering how he was under the water. "Oh right, hehehe sorry about that. I'll just place them here." She tells him as she gently places the clothing on the ground floor and walks backwards to the hut, pausing at the door to tell him. "Just get dressed, and met me inside. I'll have dinner waiting for you." She says, in a quick pace before rushing inside.

Crona just stays where he is for a bit longer, looking at the door or small window for any sign of her peeking at him. Seeing that they were clear, Crona gets up from the water and quietly walks to the clothing. Leaving him without a towel, Crona didn't really have a choice but to slip the clothing on his wet body. Not wanting to wait out till he dries and have Eruka come looking for him.

The clothing she did give him was...different then his usually dress. For one thing he was wearing pants, something he had only done once when Liz and Patty had help him dress for Kid's party...he had mix feelings on that, as it was a good night...till Medusa showed herself. Quickly ridding himself of the thought, Crona looked himself over. The pair of black skinny pants while being a fit for his legs, seemed too tight around his waist and…private regions. She also gave him a long trench coat that was two sizes too big on him, as well as a completely ruin shirt that had a large hole at its side.

The thing that seem to worry him though wasn't what they were or how it fitted him…it was how the clothing had felt. Running his fingers along the sleeve of his coat…he felt a texture he knew all too well…

Dried blood.

Very old, and judging from the small holes and tears in it…whoever bleed was wearing this coat. Crona…didn't know how to feel about wearing another person's clothing. As he moves a hand to his shirt and pants…he also notices the same…dried blood, with small tears…something had attacked whoever wore this.

Before he can think more on it though, Ragnarok's voice called out. "So, you gonna keep feeling yourself up, or what?" At his voice, Crona rips his own hands away from himself. "S-sorry." Crona mutters, before he walks back to Eruka's home…knocking on the door of course out of fear he might knock it over or something.

With Eruka opening it, she gives a pleasant…forced smile. "Oh, there you are. Looking really handsome if I don't say so myself." She says, trying to speak in a teasing tone. "Yeah, anyone standing next to you will suddenly look a LOT more attractive." Ragnarok snarls out, with Crona holding back the sudden urge to back away from the frog lady, upon being so close to her.

As he was invited back in, Eruka offers him a seat on the floor…right next to her pot on the dirty towel…where he notices a certain smell coming from it. It was….an old one, one he could almost recognize. As he reaches to touch the pots lid, Eruka suddenly dash to her own seat, opposite to his. "Wait, wait now! It's not ready yet. It's needs to sit and brew for about a few more minutes." She tells him with another forced smile…and though slightly hesitantly…Crona pulled his hand back.

"I need to ask you some questions." Crona began, as he held his hands on his thighs…keeping them closed to fist. "Okay if she tries anything, deck her in the throat…give her something to crook on." Ragnarok says, just as Eruka says back. "Weird, I got my own questions. But you can go first."

Taking a deep breath to try and prepare himself…Crona ask. "What…happened here?" Upon seeing the slightly confuse look on Eruka's face, Crona decided to elaborate. "When I came to…not only was I back…but I saw something that happened to the nearby city, and…seeing something is really weird. Like with the sky and-" Eruka suddenly looked completely taken aback by Crona's words.

"Whoa, hang on." She says as she moves to kneeling position, as if to get ready to stand up. "You're…serious, aren't you? You don't know? Ribbit-ribbit." She asks looking him over again as if she couldn't even fathom what he just said. Even looking to become irritated as she nearly shouts. "What were you living under a rock for the last two thousand years?!"

"TWO THOUSAND!!!" Crona and Ragnarok screams as he quickly rushes to his feet, looking down at the frog girl. His eyes were fully widened, with his hands opened and fingers twitching. Shock spreading through his veins like a toxin, along with fear.

The image of his hope…of her came to his mind…and then his imagination came to play. He saw her grow old…dying…her beautiful smooth skin turns ragged and disgusting as maggots eat it, how her bright and wonder eyes turn glassy and hollow as they dry into nothing, how her voice began frail and fallen on deaf ears as no one was there to care for her…not like he would.

As this image played in his mind…Crona felt something in his hand…thinking it was finally Ragnarok, as he formed into his weapon form…he tightens his hold. He ignored how wet…and soft it was. He needed something to reveal his stress. He picks it up and held it in the air…as the image within his mind becomes more gruesome.

He sees her, looking up to him…begging to come back...as time rips her from him. It couldn't be true…it was lie. Some foul joke, a pathetic waste of his time. He wanted her, he needed her. She couldn't be gone. He refused it. And he will make such a jester pay for ever to dare think of such a-…Crona stops himself…as he releases his hand…dropping Eruka to the floor as she gasps for breath. She held her hand to her throat, which had a dark mark along it.

"Crona?" Ragnarok calls out to him…with Crona just starting at the hand where he nearly chocked the life out of Eruka with. Seeing how it was shaking beyond his control. "I-I'm sorry, p-please forgive me!" Eruka wheezes out as she tries to back away…only to stumble and fall to her back.

No words came from Crona's mouth, his mind was trying to just comprehend what just happened…what he nearly did. Looking to his arm he sees…his left arm sleeve was shattered, most likely from Eruka trying to literally claw her herself away…not even a little scratch was on his arm itself though. "I-I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!" Eruka pleaded in a begging tone as she looked fearfully at the pink haired boy, holding a hand up in a vain attempt to defend herself.

"I…didn't mean too." Crona mutters as he lets his arm go limp, and fall back to his side. Eruka slowly moves to stand back up, though kept herself hunched over. "Y-you…seriously don't know what happened did you?" She asks while keeping her hand to her throat, shallowing slightly…and cringes in pain.

Crona just…silently nods his head, not able to verbally respond as the shock of what happened…and is still happening begins to set in.

"…you're Medusa's kid alright, hell maybe even scarier." Eruka coughs out under her breath…before she takes a fearful step back as she sees Crona's fingers twitch at the mention of Medusa's name. "Uhh…jeez. I think it be easier to say what DIDN'T happen. Ribbit-ribbit." She then slowly looks back up to his eyes and says. "The world…ended."

Crona's eyes widen, as his teeth pressed against each other. "W-what?" He grunts out. Eruka looked panicked as she takes another step back. "That's what happened I swear. No one knows what exactly caused what, but everything of anything happened to the world. Every single way you could imagine the world ending happened, all expect the planet itself blowing up or being thrown into the sun…or did it, honestly I can't remember half the time…" Eruka mumbles at the end.

Ragnarok voice calls out within Crona's head. "I fucking called it with saying the planet has became a post-apocalyptic fuckhole." Though he his wording wouldn't prove it, Crona knew by his tone…that Ragnarok was worried…Crona needed a seat.

As he sat down on the dirty towel again, Eruka continued to tell him. "I-it just happened one day, n-no one knew what it was, and as far as I know no one ever did find out. It started off small I guess." Eruka said as she sat down, though was still keeping her distance from Crona. "I mean, I was still captured by the DWMA, but…I heard what happened at first. 'sink holes opening up at places', 'people going missing', 'all around weird things just happening'...then one day...the moon explodes."

At the mention of his prison for who knows how long, Crona closes his hands to fist. Easily putting together that must have been the moment where he…'fell down' back home. Eruka continued, picking up speed as she spoke. "From then on, I can't even begin to tell you what happened. Everything just…exploded at once. Massive floods, earthquakes, uh…storms that no one has even seen, another world war, an ice-age, a food shortage…dead people coming back to life and eating the living, plants coming to life, Nuclear fallout, and the mutations that happened from it, l-like me and…more. Hell itself opening up and demons attacking and an invasion of aliens, not to mention sky falling on us all, I am not making this up! I swear!" Eruka tells him as she quickly holds her hands up, as if she was expecting to be struck down.

Crona just sat there though…just trying to process what she just told him. He blinked his eyes and tried to say something, but…was a bit too taken aback from it all. He wanted to just dispose of any thought of actually believing her…but…what she said made some sense. Not all of it, of course…but a bit. With the city in ruins, what was up with the sky, him suddenly being here again, the plant thing he fought, Eruka's appearance, but…He just couldn't.

Just couldn't deal with something…like THIS.

Thankfully he wasn't alone there. "W-what? Ho-How the…Aliens? Hell? Mutants?! W-what the hell can I fucking say to this shit!? I mean…floods, and stuff like that are…one thing but…Oh my god. Oh my god!" Ragnarok lets out an exhausted breath, with Crona feeling him shifting within his body as if he was trying to walk in a pace. "I…I need a minute man. Hold on."

After what felt like a whole hour of silence, Crona looks back to Eruka as she stared fearfully at him. Waiting for him to speak.

Crona was still at a lost though. "I…" He quietly began, before he slightly shook his own head. "This all happened, two thousand years ago?" He asks, with Eruka giving back a nod. "Trust me, kid. I would never forget something like that, even if I tried. And…as you can see…it had a big effect on me." Crona's eyes travel downward, trailing along her slim covered body. Thinking of the horrible change it must have been for such a thing to happen to someone. "I wasn't the only one, this is what happened to most witches…and yeah...it hurt like hell, in case you're wondering."

Eruka then looks to the floor, breaking any eye contact she could have as Crona looks back up to her face. "Y-You're the first person that I've seen in a long while, I don't even know how you are still so...normal looking. Ribbit-ribbit." Crona tilted his head a little as he gives out a small 'huh' at the that.

"Right…you don't know…but I thought you would have noticed. This whole city and even the swamp here…are filled with radiation. It's…kinda what turned me into…" She then quietly gestured to herself. Crona…got worried. If being here had done that to her…then why has nothing happened to hi-

…suddenly a thought came…how much he had changed. He remembers the power he got…but now…he seemed different. Not like how he was before. First was with what had happened to his eyes, second would be that…he seemed to just be…stronger. He didn't notice it at first…but his thoughts went back to went he chase Eruka. He wasn't really much of a runner…but…and now with the news of…the radiation…Crona began to worry…just what was he now?

He was so lost in thought that he hasn't even notice that Eruka was still talking. "-when it all started, Death city was completely fucked. They were apparently taking me somewhere so I could cause less trouble, when everything hit it. I…heard a lot of people died there. And everyone that survive could thank that one girl with the scythe." Crona literally felt his heart skip a beat, all of Eruka's wording becoming nothing but mere noise at that.

Her worry changed to one of his hope. What cruel fate happened to her…if she had drowned, was thrown aside by the wind, frozen to death, starved, eaten alive, the scenarios came one after another. None of them were pleasing for Crona. "I just can't believe it. I mean…I just literally can't believe that this fucking happened. I mean I fucking knew it actually, what am I talking about. I knew that blue fucker was gonna come and bite us in the ass, I knew it. And yes, I do mean that literally! Aliens, mutants, plants, hell itself opening it up shit, why not. Not the most unbelievably thing I heard today, next thing you know a duck became a world leader. Ugh…" Ragnarok groans in Crona's head, though the boy just wouldn't listen still. "You know, she's been talking for about 10 minutes straight, now right?"

At that Crona snaps himself out of it as he hears Eruka was finishing up. "-I've been here ever since then. Took me about four months now to find my old hat after that plane crash…then again I was…busy with other stuff." She says as he eyes wander to the pot as it continued to brew. Small bits of blue-ish green steam raising from the small openings of the cracked lid. "Oh, it's ready. Ribbit-ribbit." She tells him as she hops away from him…a slight nervous tone in her voice as she goes to cabinets again, and grabs two old and cracked cups. Moving to the pot she explains to him. "F-food and stuff have…been getting hard to come across here. Especially with that plant thing that likes to surround the entrance to this place. I can't even get a couple flies around here…well not normal ones, heheheh…ribbit."

As she unveils the lid off the pot, Crona leans his head back due the smell of the whatever it was. It was strong, and glowed a bright color mix of both green and blue. It was something infamous with witches, one of their potions.

"See I manage to make this potion with the near-by planet life here. It's not the best thing out there, but...it certainly h-helps me stay alive. Hehehe…" She says with another forced laugh, as she quickly dips both the cups down, and tries to hand him one…'tries' being the key-word as Crona just silently stares at the cup. Watching as the same steam from pot was raising from the cup. The smell now stronger than before…as well as being more…familiar. He knew this smell…he was sure of it. Eruka had walked closer to him, shoving the cup closer to him…very insistent that he take it.

The look she was giving was not helping, as she seemed to force her smile ever harder. "Come on, I'm sure need something to help your stomach. Last I remember you were never the type to eat much right?" She tells him, as she tapped the drink against his chest, the steam rising up to his face. His hands twitch as he wanted to slap the cup away…but stopped himself as he just takes the cup from Eruka.

"Crona…it's your common sense speaking…I know this might seem weird, but…don't be taking weird drinks, from freaking mutant frog witches!" Ragnarok shouts at Crona, only for the swordsman to ignore him. He was busy trying to think of what exactly was the potion, and how long it has been since he had anything to eat, let alone drink. He notices Eruka was about to take a big sip from her own cup…so without another thought, and a long dramatic "NOOOOOOO!" from Ragnarok, Crona takes one large gulp…and just like that…it all came back to Crona as the horrible, gassy empty taste rolls down his throat. It was everything like before, years ago when he was young…same smell, texture, and taste. Silently, he stares at the cup. Holding his head down so Eruka couldn't see his face.

She holds the cup to her lips, not actually have taken sip of her drink…as she slowly pulled it away from her. Something was supposed to happen…usually in seconds the person would be…on the floor. Gasping as steam is pooling from their mouth. They wouldn't be able to hold themselves up as their muscles would become loose and out of their control, and they would become panicked as all they could do is widen their eyes and try to say something…before finally their hearts would just…cease to function.

None of that was happening though…as Crona just continued to stare at the cup. Without even turning his head up, he asks. "The classic Witch's Caress? I…remember it now. Medusa would have me drink it several times. It…was awful but, I got used to it. It was meant to build up my immune system, which it had because my blood…is black. It causes victims to hallucinate, and speed up their heart rate…while also causing their body to become numb, meaning that they couldn't get help…before their heart would suffer cardiac arrest due to massive amounts of adrenaline." Crona says…in a cold harsh tone, making Eruka stumble back, complete dropping her cup to the floor and letting its color-mess splash along the mud-floors of her home.

Crona then slowly looks up her. And Eruka began completely overwhelmed with a very familiar type of fear. The same fear for her life that she felt as when she was forced to work under Medusa. She could almost hear her slithering voice as Crona calming ask. "Eruka...what were you planning to do to me?" The only sound that came next was a horrible terrified scream as Eruka ties to rush out of her home, quickly trying to leap to the door…only instead to feel a hard shove…with enough force behind it to force her right through the wooden panel of a door, and tumble down along the ground…stopping right next to the small 'kiddie pool' of hers, her face just inches away from touching its water.

She tried to quickly get her face away from the water…only for something to step on her back, the sudden stop knocked her hat off her head to the water…where it was quickly beginning to dissolve into nothing. "Ahh…ehh…" Eruka whimpers as the small bit of steam of what was once the hat just raises up…and as she turns to look at what was holding her down…her eyes widen as she sees Crona was holding his foot on her back.

Crona just silent glares at her for a moment. "Was that, what you were expecting when I came in? To dissolve much like that hat of yours?" He spoke, quietly as he leans in at slow pace. "Is this the result of another witch potion perhaps…maybe one to skin the flesh from my muscles or maybe turn me into nothing but bones for you to chew on." Crona then grabs her by the back of her dress and forces her to face him. As he picks her up slightly off the ground, he mutters to her. "I am waiting for an explanation. Proceed to give me one, and you'll live longer."

Eruka begins to whimper as she tells him. "Y-you…w-w-w-" Crona stops her as he leans closer to her face and whispers. "Were supposed to die, correct? Well I apologize for the minor inconvenience, I should have forewarned you…I tend not to die."

"H-how…how?!" She cries out as she tries to pull from his grip…but Crona just kept a tight hold. "Any other thing would have just...just die three times over. How aren't you dead?!" Crona tilts his head a little bit, before he gently closes his eyes…and opens them again…showing his pupils looking lighter in color, to a cold shade of blue.

"I was never like anyone else. I was genetically engineered to have very…different qualities. My blood is black you know. Breed to punish and avenge…and everything I touched…died." Crona tells her… as he grips his hand around her neck again. Eruka trying in vain to escape his grip as she claws on his arm…but not even the slightest cut appeared on his skin.

As Crona slowly forces her head back…closer to touching the acid-like water…he continued to monologue, speaking in a…strangely elegant tone. "I had cease being the child that feared everything. For I knew I had only one fear, of losing my hope. I had butchered the woman who gave me birth, who forced me into this hell called life. Where every single moment of my existence, and every step I take is engrave with the blood of my enemies and allies alike. Death is with me every second of the day…wither I wish it so or not." Eruka whimpering grew louder as she could feel her hair burn away as it is touch the bare surface of the water.

She tries to look right into Crona's eyes. Silently pleading as she could form any words from her mouth. But no emotion was there for her to beg too...just a cold empty look. With his left hand, Crona points to his head. "Up here is…not what you'd expect. My accomplishments, fears, failures, everything that makes me who I am. But no…instead there is emptiness…darkness…a void." His hand then quickly snaps to grab at Eruka's hand as she tries to claw at his eyes. An echo of a loud crack runs across the swamp. Eruka could only wheeze out a moan of pain, as her broken fingers where tightly held by Crona for a moment...till he let go.

He then placed his hand on his chest, right over his heart. "I had place all of those here…so that I would give it to my...hope. My light in the darkest abyss. My…Mind was broken, long ago…along with my Soul. Time…seem to have rotted away…everything that I cared about, leaving nothing but a dark Space… that can never be filled again, and all I have to show for it is this…Power that I cannot still comprehend. That is the Reality of my existence."

A weak, wheeze filled scream came…as Eruka was trying to throw her head forehead…as the beak of her head was just barely touching the top of the water. A small bit of steam moves up the air as a red color spread along the water's surface. She was staring straight up to Crona, pleading as best she could as tears began to roll down her pale sickly colored face. What little bit of mercy that was in Crona, was finally reached…as he loosens his hold on her, allowing her to rip her head away from the water and gasp for breath.

"P-please…d-don't kill me!" Eruka gasps…or rather croaks out as more tears roll down her face. Crona just hoisters her up, with his right arm as he asks. "Really? Is that all that you can say?" More tears roll down Eruka's face…before a moment of realization came. "W-wait…wait…I-I remember now. Y-you can't kill me!" Crona tilts his head slightly…and takes a step forward so that Eruka was daggling right over the acid-water now. "P-P-Please listen, ribbit! B-back ago, t-that scythe girl was the one that saved my life. Y-you were close to her right?! C-come on, you wouldn't want her efforts to be in vain…r-right!?" Eruka pleaded in a pathetic tone as she tries and appeal to Crona's 'better' side in a hope that he wouldn't just decide to let go now.

And for a moment…it seems to have worked as…Crona seemed taken aback by the news. But just as he was about to take a step back to allow Eruka down on the floor she said. "Y-yeah, that girl…um...uh…M-Mak-" A loud wet sound echoed across all of the swamp…along with the sounds of gasping, as the life faded from Eruka's eyes almost instantly. "I…will not hear her name, from your filthy mouth!" Crona shouts as he continues to hold Eruka up in his right hand…as half of his left arm was currently shoved right through her chest and out her back. Without even another word, Crona pulls his arm back and lets her drop to the water...it began burning her completely so to show all her muscles, then organs…then bones…and then finally nothing…leaving a completely red steaming watering hole as Crona was standing over it silently.

"…So…pardon my tone but eh, WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT SHITBREAK?!" Ragnarok voice screams, loud enough to startle Crona, and nearly make him fall into the water. "R-Ragnarok?! Oh no…Eh…eh...I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap like that." He says, suddenly feeling embarrassed at Ragnarok seeing him like that.

He felt as if he was slapped upside the head, as Ragnarok shouts. "Snap! That's what you called that?!" Crona sinks his head down his shoulders as he grips his still bloody left hand to his right arm. "Crona, yelling at some that they are an asshole or something is 'snapping'! THAT! Was some…Shakespearean crap or something I mean…The creepiest part…is that you weren't even like…trying to sound scary. Oh my god." He said with a tone of disbelief.

Crona pulls his hand away from his arm and stares at the bloody appendage. He doesn't say any words as he just let Ragnarok continue to talk. "I mean then there is the whole…stuff you said…w-were you talking about the fat co-…Ma…the very 'nice'…and 'pretty' girl you like. And lets not forget the whole…you shoved your fist through her chest like it was a wall and you were the fucking Kool-Aid man." Crona decided it was time to leave. Taking a deep breath, he starts to walk…leaving the mud-home and what was life of Eruka behind him. "What happened to being a nervous wreck I used to beat on? And while I'm asking, where are you going?!"

Running his hand down along the mucky water to get rid of the blood, Crona answers him. "I have my mind…working on other things, too much to be scared now. As for where we are heading…" He then looks up, seeing the trees that seemed to cover most of the sky…though through little openings…he could see the blue-ish strange lights. "We're going to Death City…we need to talk to the reaper. He…might be the one we need to talk to for this."

Ragnarok gives a low groan, with Crona feeling as if he was shaking his head. "Jeez…and that's if we get lucky. Do you even know where we are going or even are?" He asks as Crona is walking through the waters of the swamp, his eyes scanning around for anything that might attack them just to be safe.

"We'll get there eventually." Crona tells him as he climbs back up to land, and continues to walk forward. With Ragnarok's last comment being. "I fucking hope so, after all this shit I could really go for something going right for us right now. Just try not to rip his chest open or anything if he mentions something you don't like." Before the two became silent…as they had a long journey ahead of them.

Unknown to either of them…they were being watched, by a single person as he was standing in front of an old and dirty well that seemed to glow an unnatural light from within. He wore the tattered remains of what was once a unique cloak for his family…and in one hand held the signature mask of a reaper…in the other…a bright green gem, that seemed to just be…everlasting.

The person watching held the gem tightly in his hand before he steps away from the well, walking through the broken and yet…symmetrical halls of what seemed to be a destroyed tunnel.


Before creation itself, there were six singularities. Then the universe exploded into existence, and the remnants of these systems were forged into the six concepts of life.

Reality…Mind…Time…Space…Power…Soul.

These aspects that are the foundation of all life in all of existence. Each crafted to hold the power of infinity itself. Upon the gathering of these six of these gems, will grant the user…all the power of infinity. With that…a single being could over power even Eternity itself. The wielder would become something else.

There would be no denying it: They would become supreme.

Anything they wish to be, they are.

Anything they wish, is.

Nothing in the universe would dare challenge that claim.

There can only be one word that would describe them…

GOD.