Chapter 0: Can't fall down.

Hello and welcome to this story. If you've been here before, welcome back to the rewritten version. For those just joining, I hope you like it. Be warned, very unpleasant dialog, scenes ranging from horrific to explicit, are awaiting you up ahead.

Let's get started, shall we?

Unknown realm.

Many years ago.

Stone walls all around, faint rumble of guards above, a constant drip in the distance. Cold air stung the exposed flesh of the man chained to the ground. A stone platform held in the air by chains, in the center stands a man, chains wrapped tightly around his wrists and neck. The chains were connected to weights below the platform, the weight pulling on the chains that kept his arms apart and strangling him with the chain around his neck. At the moment, there was a chain attached to a hook jammed into his right eye, dried blood covering the right side of his face. There was no hook in his left eye since it was sealed shut, well, appeared sealed shut. There were three scars going down his face. There was no movement from underneath the eyelid, so most assumed he lost it, and even if he did have his eye, with scars that deep, the eye had to have been damaged as well. The weights were intended to keep him in place and cause pain as the chains dug into his flesh, but the chains were rusting, which means an infection was spreading through his body. It has been that way for a few years now. The chains were as strong as ever though. No matter how hard he would try, he could never break them, let alone move. Not yet. Not as he was. But he wasn't known to give up easily. No, he'll try until he can't move. This was a big problem since he had only one hook in his head. The weight on his right arm was attached to the weight on his left, which meant that if he pulled his right to his chest, his left would be pulled at the same time.

This was why he was actually wishing they out a hook in his other eye. With no other weight to counter balance it, the weight attached to the chain was just dangling over nothing, pulling on his head constantly. He felt as if his head would literally split open any moment. "Mmmm." His muffled voice came as a soft crack sounded, making him worry that a chunk of his skull was going to be ripped off.

His own resolve bugged him when he tried to move his arm, only for his fingers to be the only part of his arm to be able to move. He listened for any sound, but it only came from above, which wasn't very helpful at the moment. He slowly tried to close his hands, but could only get them to twitch. He growled lowly, his anger slowly rising. He tried to wiggle his toes, but they wouldn't move. He couldn't even feel them. Taking in a deep breath, he listened and focused on the sound above him. He felt better when an image formed in his mind. The ceiling was a hundred feet above him, but the vibrations from the guards went through the floor and the chains, all the way down to him where he can feel and hear it. If only he had a way of making noise, he could get a better idea of his surroundings and a way to escape. His hands twitched and slowly closed, but opened again. He let out a soft sigh, only for the sound to be absorbed by the spike jammed into his mouth, its point brushing against the back of his throat painfully. Sound was his only way to see at the moment, but any time he tries to make a noise with his mouth, most of it gets blocked by the spike. Grinding his teeth on the metal spike, the prisoner ponders various ways to at least remove the spike.

The guards only come near to torture him, and food is never offered so there would never be a time when they would remove the spike. He let his body go as limp as possible before attempting to fall asleep. A faint screech drew his attention, sleeping no longer a option. He willed his left hand to close, growling in anger and frustration as he focused all of his energy to make it close. The presence was of a being he didn't recognize, but he did know that it wasn't exactly good. It wasn't human, or Immortal, but something else. He felt a faint rumble through the stone floor, but couldn't make out the distance. He focused on his hearing, but nothing came. Silence. Not even the guards above. Nothing. He slowly relaxed, feeling depressed. He hoped a opportunity for escape would appear should that commotion have been closer, but what ever it was, was gone.

Well, it's not like I have to be anywhere at the moment. I can wait here for a bit longer. The prisoner thought optimistically. She's been silent for some time. Nothing must be happening. I wonder what the commotion was. An attack? His thoughts occupied him for a few minuets. A sound made him look up. The guards are changing shifts. He noted.

He smirked, ignoring the spike in his mouth. Sure, he wished he had the other hook so that the pain in his head would lessen, but he was more glad that he didn't. Slowly, blood seeped from his left eye, going down his scars like a bloody path and dripped on the floor. He moaned softly and his left eyelid slowly opened, letting the gem feel the cold air. After a moment the smooth gem shifted, like how an eye would. It moved and looked to the side, then turned slowly in its socket. And then after doing a 180 degrees, it stopped abruptly, the sound of a click sounding even louder in the relatively empty chamber. The markings on the exposed side of the gem started to glow, then, as he closed both fists, the entire gem started to glow. His blood started to boil as energy rushed through his system. After a moment, silence ensued.

He opened both hands a small sparks of electricity jumped between his fingers. He slowly twisted his hands and grabbed the chains, the sparks jumping to the metal and then back to his hands, growing more violent as the seconds ticked by. He growled lowly and snapped his head to the side, the hook coming free, taking some flesh with it. It hit the ground with a clatter, but then was pulled by the weight and fell into the darkness below. Blood poured from the new wound, but he was just getting started. As the sound of the growls increased, he bit down into the spike in his mouth. The metal creaked then snapped after bending at an odd angle. It too clattered to the floor. His tongue slipped out and licked up the blood from his lips and some from the right side of his face. He smirked and looked up. He remembered. He had a duty to do. Although he would never admit it, he's been sleeping on the job.

The guards assembled outside the room, having heard the noise. However, as a guard was about to open the the door, they heard something else. It came from the room, but also from down the stone hallway behind, and the vents above them, and the cells that were on both sides of them. One guard looked around. "Humming? Where's it coming from?"

No guard had an answer.

Inside the cell, the prisoner was smirking madly, his wounds slowly healing. He looked up at the door, amused by their ignorance. They honestly believed they could keep him inside. He took in a deep breath and let it out, but it was black smoke instead of breath that came out. The Darkness came from his mouth and started to fly about the room, creating a noise so silent, only the prisoner could hear, but loud enough to get his barrings. His smirk got bigger and his right eye grew back, having been the first wound to be fully healed. It was pale, but it looked around as if it could see. After a moment it started to glow, a bright white light that illuminated the floor in front of him. He continued to hum eerily, his gaze predatory. Then the door started to open and the humming stopped. Some of the guards entered.

Villanueva broke free from his chains.

And I am back. I guess. Well, I hope I didn't confuse you.