Darkness within

Hello. After some consideration and reading, I decided to start again with a different idea. I think I have learn enough to avoid making the same mistakes I did with Heir of two worlds.

Anyways, thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: Highschool DxD belongs to its rightful owner. I own nothing but my OCs.

Before light appeared, all ever existed was darkness.

It had been like that ever since the mere instant the cosmos had been created. Dlack's dominion and strength was that of corruption.

No life could exist, no order could be imposed to the eternal chaos that the universe was filled of and that the dragon created. It had been like that for eons and it would have been like that for all eternity until a new element appeared: light.

It was unlike anything Dlack had ever faced before, burning the dragon's body and stealing its strength. No matter what it did, the powers of the darkness could not face those of the light.

Order was slowly being imposed over the eons-old chaos.

Its opposing natures bounded the two elements into an eternal fight for dominance, one Dlack would never win. Its Creator had made sure of it. No matter what it did, no matter where it went, light appeared and order replaced the chaos it created.

It was, after a titanic battle against God's light, that Dlack was defeated at last.

Weak, blind and mortally wounded, the colossal dragon's soul was extracted from its body and stored in a jewel. There was nothing it could have done; long gone was the strength and dominion of the titanic beast, now reduced to a pathetic husk of its old self.

But, while its soulless body plumbed towards the entrails of the new world, the dragon's plan to replace its brother was not forgotten; it would find a way, it didn't matter how, to return. And then, it would show them the real power of darkness.

The day had gone…pretty well, hadn't it?

It was his first date after all, so he did his best to give her a great time. He had took her to the arcade and anywhere else where they could have fun. And now he, Issei Hyoudou was being led to the park by his new girlfriend Yuuma Amano, the sweet and innocent girl that had asked him out for a date.

It may had been the feelings he was starting to have for her, or the ideas that came to his mind when he looked at her bre…best assets, such as her eyes, but he did not notice that he was being led into an area where no one would see them.

After they ventured deep enough, she turned to look at him and gave him the most seductive smile he had ever seen. His blood pressure rushed to the tops as his heart beat as fast as it could upon seeing her rather (he hoped) inviting gesture.

"Issei-kun…" She called with a velvet-like voice, walking towards him while licking her lips with her pink tongue.

He hastily closed the short distance that separated them, never breaking eye contact.

They were soon in a rather tight embrace, him with her arms around his neck; her, with his around her waist. Issei stared at her eyes, those beautiful eyes of her filled with desire.

He had never seen that side of Yuuma but he liked it so far.

"Will you do anything for me?" she seductively whispered to his ear; her lips nearly touching his earlobe.

Shivers went down his spine as her words arrived his ears; those alluring, inviting words which meant hundreds of possibilities in his mind.

The boys were never going to believe him when they knew of this.

"Wh-"

Before he could answer her, another voice was heard.

"Run!"

It was swift and quick; only audible for a mere instant.

Was someone calling? He quickly looked around them, but found no one.

…

…

…

Nah, it was probably just his imagination. He immediately returned his full attention towards the girl in his arms.

"Is there something wrong, Issei-kun?" Yuuma sweetly asked him but a flash of impatience appeared in her eyes.

"N-Nothing, Yuuma-chan! What would you like me to do?" He asked with a smile, hopping he had not destroyed her mood.

Everything seemed so perfect around them: the shining moon on top of their heads and its reflection on the fountain in front of them. While he was getting ready to meet Yuuma, he had heard on the news that tonight Earth's moon was getting in some sort of alignment with the other planets' (honestly he had not been paying much attention, doing all he could to plan the best date possible)

Yuuma brought him back to reality as she closed the insignificant distance that separated their faces. Issei could feel her lips as close as they could get to his without touching them.

"Would you gently…die?"

"Eh?"

A sinister grin appeared on her face as a shining light came out of nowhere and arrived to her hands, before stabbing him on the stomach.

…Or that's what would have happened if he had not received a swift kick on the ribs before finding himself hitting the hard concrete.

Ignoring the pain on his chest, from the floor where his body arrived, the brunet teenager stared incredulous at the shape that he once knew as Yuuma Amano. Black raven wings emerged from the back of a woman a bit older, wearing a leather-like straps. Her face was a mask of hate and spiteful as she looked at the person in front of her.

From his position, all Issei could see is that he wore a black t-shirt and a dark-blue jeans, with shoulder-length black hair tied into a tight ponytail.

"Run as fast as you can" Said the young man in front of him. His emotionless voice sounded like a whisper but oddly enough it had authority, almost like an order.

Not needing to hear it twice, Issei rose and ran as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Don't. You. Think. About. IT!" Yuuma's voice seemed to spit venom as she snapped her fingers.

Not stopping the urge to see behind his back, the brunet saw the other boy falling to his knees, with what seemed to be a spear made of light coming out of his chest. Then he felt it himself: the sharp feeling of pain puncturing his own chest and the immediate numbness that spread through his entire body. Blood was spilled from his mouth as both his legs stopped working and let him fall to the hard concrete. The last thing he saw was a hole in his chest before hitting his head with the floor.

Time seemed to slow down as he laid on the red pool that surged from him. Images quickly appeared in his eyes, flashes from his entire life. Yuuma asking him out on a date and a red pamphlet he received from a red haired girl being the last tings he saw.

'I-I-Is this how I'm going to die?' he thought with bitterness and sadness.

Why!? Why did it had to be him!? Just when he thought a girl had finally liked him…

As his conscious began to fade, black feathers began to fall on top of him, like some sort of rain. Flying above his head, he saw the girl he had considered his first girlfriend.

"I'm so sorry" The sinister smile that she had on her face proved the otherwise "You were a threat to us so we had to take you down while we could. If you want to hate someone, hate the God who put a Sacred Gear in you" He tried to reach towards her but everything suddenly turned black, her cruel laugh being the last thing he listened…

With his only visible eye, Alexander saw the fallen angel fly into the night.

Sacred Gear. She had said the boy had a Sacred Gear. That explained the odd energies he felt surging from him. And it was not a normal Sacred Gear, no. Even as far as he was from him, Alexander felt its power.

'A Longinus Gear, no doubt' he thought.

What a coincidence. A Longinus wielder and the Unholy Gear owner were dying that night.

It was very peaceful indeed. Even with his trained senses he could only feel calmness around him as he felt into the embrace of death. The way the wind blew between the trees reminded him a bit of the forest's clearing.

He stared at the book right in front of him. Considering its age and rarity, it should have been in a museum rather than in a park out in the open.

'I never finished reading it…' He tried to reach it but restrained himself before doing so, 'I wonder how Sherl-'

He lost conscious for an instant but returned to himself soon after.

The potion's effect was fading: he could hear the roar of the beast inside of him, desperately trying to free itself as drop by drop, life escaped from its host's body. It wouldn't be long until the visions began to appear.

If he could, he would have chuckled.

How long had he longed for it? For the sweet release of death and of the burden placed upon him?

'Father…Mother…Sister…I'll see you soon…' he thought while he closed his eyes, savoring the calm.

But Dlack would not remain calm.

The usual whispers had turned into uproars as the dragon tried to gain control over him. Echoes of docens of voices shouted in a crescendo, with an unnatural and inhuman voice leading them all. His left hand began to move on its own accord, trying to rise his body from the floor.

'Enough of that' he ordered as he placed his hand back to the concrete again.

The beast tried to roar its objection but Alexander still had enough willpower to make them only mere whispers.

Ah, to think that this would be the last time he would listen to it…

…

…

…

The sensation of several magic circles being opened caught his attention from his slow death. For an instance he had hoped that the fallen angel had returned (seriously, that girl had an awful aim) but the immediate demonic power refuted his idea.

They were demons, four of them in total. They seemed to be around his age, probably a bit younger, one male and three females.

The boy had blonde hair and the looks of a prince, the way he moved only proving this. He was definitely a reborn devil and from his appearance, he had to be a knight.

The small girl had white hair and a seemingly expressionless face. She was no human, no. Even in the distance, the smell coming from her made his eyes water and his nose run. She was obviously a nekomata. Her position was a bit hard to determine, but after feeling the vibrations of the ground every time she moved, Alexander saw the strength she tried to hide. Absolutely a rook.

The two other young women were probably the same age as him, with an air of elegance coming from both. Both had a buxom figure and long hair. The one on the left wielder had hers tied into a thigh-long black ponytail.

'She has fallen angel blood' Alexander thought upon looking at her…rather sizable bust, 'Being both a devil and fallen angel must definitely boost her magic. She's obviously this peerage's Queen…'

A sharp headache as if someone had pierced his brain from the inside caught his attention and made everything turn red for a second while his left hand tried to rise him again.

The boy bit hard his lips until he drew blood. He had not come this far only to lose himself to the beast that lived inside of him right before dying. He would remain in charge until his very last moment.

Ignoring the uproar coming from the voice in his mind, Alexander stared at the remaining devil. He didn't need to look two times at her to know her identity.

'She's a noble devil, undoubtedly a member of one of the Clans of the 72 pillars. By pure logic: the king.'

They surrounded the brunet's body as the before-mentioned girl leaned next to him. The most logical explanation Alexander could think of was of her intending to turn the brunet boy into a pawn to obtain the power from his Longinus Gear, this only confirmed with the shining light that came from his chest every time she placed something on top of it.

They were like that for about ten minutes.

Seriously, how bad was that fallen angel's accuracy? He had been…what, less than two meters away from her? It was not normal for someone with a hole in the chest to take this long to die.

Oh well, at least none of the devils had seen him…

"…Someone's here."

Dammit.

Rias had a satisfied smile on her face. The contract her familiar had given to Issei Hyoudou had summoned them just in time to turn him into a pawn. Surprisingly from a member of the "Hentai Trio", she had used all of her pawn pieces in order to resurrect him. She wondered the how strong the new member of her peerage would become. Her smile only widened upon the thought. Everything had gone like she planned.

Well, until Koneko found another body.

Lying on a pool of his own blood, was a young male. He appeared to be around her age, probably a bit older.

"…Something's odd…" said Koneko while she stared at the boy's body.

Being their detector by excellence, they all followed the neko girl's advice and got closer to him.

Yuuto crouched in order to examine his wounds.

"These appear to be made by a spear of light, but they are not clean cuts." the knight said before a much closer inspection, "The skin around them is badly burned, almost like acid injuries. Could he be a devil?"

"No, there have not been any reports about stray devils around the area." answered Rias, "And there are no battle remains. No devil would go down without a fight."

Akeno placed one hand on his back "Besides, he has no mana, not even one bit."

"Poor man, he must have been at the wrong place at the wrong time." Yuuto said as he stood up "What are we going to do Buchou? Do we leave him like that or do you have something in mind?"

They all turned towards Rias, who had put on some glasses and had an expression of deep thought, "I wonder…" She walked a bit further and picked up a black feather "It seems the fallen angel revealed its true form before killing Hyoudou-kun and this young man."

"Buchou?" asked Akeno upon seeing the behavior of her best friend and King.

"But why? Why kill both of them? Fallen angels possess memory-erasing spells. Why not simply erase his?" She paused, "Some fallen angels possess an insatiable bloodlust, yes, and the most logical explanation is that, as Yuuto said, he might have been at the wrong place at the wrong time but, I can't stop wondering…"

"Could this young man have seen what was going on and tried to stop it?"

"Buchou, are you considering turning him as well?" Yuuto asked, bringing back Rias from her train of thought.

"What? ...Oh, no. No…maybe?" The King looked at her peerage, "I'm wondering the type of person someone has to be in order to die trying to help a complete stranger." Rias knelt and brushed one of the black, bloodied bangs covering his face. She couldn't stop the shiver she felt upon touching his extremely cold skin. How could he be that cold if it have only been minutes?

"You used all the pawn pieces on Issei-Kun, did you not?" Akeno stared at the boy's body, "Using any other piece on him would be a waste. Even if a pawn piece remained, it would be too much for him."

"Perhaps, but," Rias stood up and put a hand inside her pocket "those are not the only pieces remaining."

She pulled out a small black rectangle. It couldn't be longer than three centimeters long and its sides were unequal.

"Buchou, what is that?" Yuuto asked her upon seeing the tiny object.

"A proto-piece. Or that's how Beelzebub-sama called it. It was along my evil pieces when I first got them. It's supposed to be a prototype of the actual evil piece system we use. A memento of the path that brought us here, he said."

"What does it do?"

"It's supposed to work as any normal piece. In theory."

"In theory?" Akeno raised a bit one of her brows.

"Yesss?" Rias scratched the back of her head "Even Beelzebub-sama said that it would surprise him if it actually worked. The mana interfering with the actual transformation into a devil was the reason he said it didn't work."

"So that's why you want to use it on him."

"Yes, but mostly-"

A globed hand held tightly into Rias' ankle upon listening to her words. And the four devils gasped in surprise as the young man on the floor suddenly opened his eyes.

"Don't…You…Dare…" he managed to mutter, staring deep into Rias eyes with his black-colored ones before loosening his grip and falling unconscious.

'Blood is dripping from the fresh bodies, towards the floor. He can tell the servants are horrified even without looking behind him. Their fear is delicious.

He sips again the red wine in his cup. The merchant was right: it was the best wine in miles.

Unlucky for them, they had not headed towards Walachia for trade and instead, decided to continue their way. A poor decision.

He brings the cup towards the stake and catches a few drops of blood with it. He sips it again.

'Much better' he thinks.

With his enhanced senses, he feels the servants shivering behind him. He grins.

Its advice had been right, after all. As always…'

Panting, Alexander was brought back into the worlds of the living. Like every other morning, he covered his mouth with his hand to silence the pants, his body shaking and heart beating accelerated.

While he sat, it took him a bit to realize he was on the modern world and not in the medieval times. Undoubtedly the potion's effect had entirely faded.

"Oh, no…" he muttered when he saw where he was.

It was not an abysm full of darkness nor an eternity into the nothingness, not even Limbo. Instead that finding himself in any of the places he had always thought he would be when he died, if he managed to remain in control till the last moment, Alexander woke up in spacious room illuminated by candles.

Several magic circles decorated the floor while some strange symbols where along the walls.

A grand and elegant wooden desk with a throne-like chair behind was to his left, several papers decorating its surface.

He appeared to be on some sort of sofa, of an extremely good quality, considering how comfortable it was. A coffee table separated him from another sofa, one which was occupied by the sleeping form of the red haired devil from last night.

It was then when Alexander looked at his chest, the memory of his injuries returning from looking at the girl. He was wearing a white cotton t-shit, no doubt his had been left unusable by the light spear. The wounds he had received must have been healed by now but it would take his body a while to eliminate the light remaining in his system.

He could feel the reinforced demonic energies inside of him. If light wasn't already a problem, how bad would it be now that he had been turned into a full devil?

"Why? Why did you have to do it?" he angrily whispered while looking at her.

"I see you've woken up. Good." An elegant voice called.

Walking into the room carrying a porcelain tea set, was the girl Alexander had identified last night as a devil with fallen angel blood. She gave him a small bow before sitting next to him and pouring herself a cup of tea, an aura of nobility always accompanying her.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Akeno Himejima. And she's Rias Gremory." She signaled her with her cup.

Gremory Clan and Grand Duke Gremory where among the first words that arrived to Alexander's mind upon listening to her.

"My name's Alexander. Glad to make your acquaintance." His emotionless voice sounded dry.

"Would you like a cup of tea, Alexander?"

"No, thank you. I'm afra-"

'Blood, bring me blood'

'Kill them all. How dare them get-'

"Alexander?" Akeno called, bringing him back to reality.

"I must leave, now." He tried to get up. The whispers where stronger now. It would only take a few more minutes before he began losing contr-

"Please remain seated. You must have questions." Her tone was still elegant, yet, he heard the order that lied behind it.

"Actually, no I don't." He sat down, "Everything's crystal clear"

"Oh?" One of her eyebrow raised a bit upon his expressionless visage and tone. He didn't looked like someone who had just awoke from being on the verge of death.

"Longinus Gear." Her violet eyes widened a bit in surprise upon listening to his words but her composure soon returned. "If I had to take a guess I'd say is the Boosted Gear."

"The fallen angels must have seen the boy that wields it as a menace to whatever plans they have in mind, so they decided to eliminate him while they still could.

Anyways, one of the fallen angels must have seduced the boy and brought him to a deserted place where she could easily deal with him. But with the arrogance only natural to the fallen angels, they thought possible getting undetected into devil's territory.

Quite the contrary as your king had everything planned to turn him into a pawn as soon as the fallen angel thought she had killed him. Am I wrong?"

Akeno seemed to want to talk but she was speechless.

He proceeded without waiting for her answer, "It was quite a smart move for the Gremory heiress; I should say that. She has earned the loyalty of the wielder of one of the most powerful sacred gears in existence, with addition to the one her knight wields, of course."

Alexander got closer to her, "But now, the only question remaining is the one I care the most: the reason why I'm still here. Was I not clear? I understand my voice tends to sound like a whisper but that wouldn't be a problem for a devil's hearing. So what is it, then? Why. Am. I. Still. Here? " The tone in which those last five words were pronounced was one of hate.

It was then when Akeno seemed to break from the trance she seemed to be in.

"How do you know about all of that?"

'The intoxicating smell of virgin blood arrived to his nostrils. The maidens have arrived.

The delicacy of such fragrance makes his stomach shiver in hunger as they venture deeper- '

Brushing the thoughts away, Alexander answered, "It's all in the open. You just need to put together all the small pieces to get the full picture. But you're deliberately avoiding my question and I don't appreciate that."

Ignoring the hard look he was giving her, Akeno said coldly "You should be more grateful for having your life saved."

"Having my life saved?" he snidely remarked "Is an eternity of servitude something to be grateful of?"

It was Akeno's turn to give him a hard look, "You know nothing."

"Indeed. And I would prefer it to remain that way." He raised from his seat and headed towards what he believed was exit.

"Listen to me carefully." The tone she used could have frozen even ice itself, "You owe your life to my Master and we always get our part back, one way or another."

"Honestly…I'd like to see you try. Good bye, Miss Himejima, may we never meet again." He opened the door and left.

Akeno grunted in frustration after the boy left the room. She had never met someone as imbecile and idiotic as he. And the worst part, she had left him mess with her mind. At least there have not been any other problems with Issei Hyoudou.

"I take it you heard everything, Rias" She said to her seemengly-sleeping friend.

She opened her eyes the moment her name was mentioned, "Most of it, yes." She sat on the couch and stretched a bit.

"I still think this was a mistake." Akeno said as she poured her King and best friend a cup of tea and another for herself.

"Thank you" Rias said as she grabbed the boiling cup and blew it a bit to cool it, "You saw what happened on the park, Akeno. We all did."

The raven haired girl took a deep breath. Yes, they had seen how the boy's injuries had begun healing themselves even before Rias placed the proto-piece on him, but still, there was something that didn't seem right about him.

"I think we're taking too many risk with him. We don't know how he truly is and after this, I don't think I want to know."

Her crimson haired friend gave her a reassuring smile "Give it a try, Akeno. He must be in denial after all. And besides, we're all too tired after last night."

"I should be the one to say that." She gave her an amused smile, "After all, you slept the entire night."

"Hey, I was tired of healing both of them!" Rias complained, puffin her cheeks in annoyance.

Akeno chuckled a bit "Oh, I'm sure you were, Buchou. I'm sure you were…"

Alexander ran as fast as he could.

'"Please! Monsieur! I have a family!"

He chuckles upon his pleadings.

'Pathetic' he thinks

The smell of powder, spilled blood and the sea fills his nostrils.

His men are scavenging the boat for any values while he has his "discussion" with the captain.

"A little bird told me that you where transporting gold from the colonies." He pulls a knife and presses it against the man's neck, "So, where is it?"

"I don't know! We're only transporting spices!" the man is at the verge of tears.

'He's lying' the voice whispers.

"Too bad, then." He flicks one of his hands and black tendrils surround the man's arms and legs. He then presses the knife against one of the man's fingers, "Let's see if losing a finger or two teaches you not to lie to a pirate captain."'

The boy had left just in time. His left hand had begun twitching and acting on its own accord the moment he crossed the door to the outside. Black veins had appeared from the inside of his globed hand. He pressed it against his side in order to calm it, but the fingers had begun to painfully pierce between his ribs.

He had to get to the apartment and fast.

It didn't matter the looks people gave him when he bluntly passed next to them nor the drivers' shouts when he crossed the street before time. There was only one thing on his mind and it was to drink the potion.

He could feel it: the slow yet enveloping shadow stretching in his mind. Dlack was not going to waste the opportunity of its host's mental barriers falling apart.

'Blood, bring me blood!'

"Sir, are you alright? You seem to be-"

'"Is this the fruit of thy womb!?"'

Panting, Alexander found the preoccupied face of a boy rather than that of a horrified woman. Mumbling any excuse, he continued his race towards the apartment.

Why? Why couldn't that Rias Gremory leave him to die? Years of planning had been sent to the thrash because of her intervention. He was going to make her pay. He had to make her pa- Wait. What!? No! His barriers were down and the dragon's thoughts were mixing with his own.

He brushed them away with the remaining willpower he had. With his lungs burning, he ran the remaining kilometers. It didn't help that he felt extremely weak during the day, no doubt for having been turned into a devil.

Coughing hard, he finally arrived to the run-down apartment. With his remaining strength, he ran up the stairs till the fourth floor and headed towards the furthest door. His right hand was shaking while he introduced the key into the lock and opened the door.

He was met by the broken tiles of the floor and the yellow-stained walls. The broken pipes of the floor had made a puddle of water again but he paid no attention. He rushed towards the kitchen and bluntly opened the dented refrigerator.

Inside of it were several bottles filled with a black oily liquid. Desperately, he grabbed the nearest one and quickly drank its content. His gag reflexes almost made him thrown up as the repulsive and viscous liquid arrived to his mouth but he forced himself to drink it all. His throat burned as the liquid passed.

But it wasn't over.

A pierce pain at the base of his skull forced him to bend his body, dropping the empty bottle. The echoes of docens of voices scram with all their might as his body twisted fiercely. Dlack was trying to gain control once more, but its efforts were soon subdued as the potion's effect spread. It had been the longest time without Alexander drinking it, but after a seemingly-eternal minute, the voices where silenced.

Taking a deep breath, he calmed his heart. He headed towards the supply room and picked up a broom. After cleaning the broken remainings of the crystal bottle, the boy headed towards the freezer and pulled out an IV bag with a white content. Grabbing the tripod, he left the kitchen and entered the adjacent living room. He placed the tripod with the IV bag next to the only chair and sat. Taking another breath, he grabbed the needle and pierced the vein from his left arm. The familiar sensation of unconsciousness welcomed him as he left his head fall down his shoulders.

In the room she was in, a girl dressed in a gothic Lolita outfit stared at the darkness. She gently put one of her petite hands over the shadows and closed her eyes.

"You have returned, my love." She whispered.

Hello again and thanks for reading.

If you have any suggestions or constructive criticism, they're always welcome.

I'm going to try to keep the story as close as I can to the novels.

Anyways, thanks again and have a nice day.