Hello again friends. This was meant to be the second half of last chapter but I decided that keeping them apart would be better. Now that you've seen what the side of Light is like, let's get back to our main characters. But first Reviewer replies:

AlkaFeldspar: I'm hoping I'll surprise you with what I have planned so I'll take that as a challenge! The wheels of the plot do indeed go round and round and round and it'll be a bumpy ride for sure. What fun.

Kaiban: The forces of Darkness were indeed scattered and it'll be explained more in this chapter. I can't say much cause it might give away a few details so we'll just have to see what happens~

I Shall Play the Dragon

"So, Anal-"

"It. Is. Annial!" Annial slams a fist on the table, threatening to split it in two. "Annial, as in Annihilate. I annihilate all those in my way!"

"Ah," Whisper laughs. "So your self-given name is Analate. Quirky."

The greatest of the Plane of Darkness had gathered in what was once the meeting place of Excalibur and his colleagues. Now sitting in the tallest tower of the ruined castle in Beacon were the monsters among monsters.

"As I was saying," Annial continues, choosing to ignore Whisper's antics in favor of gaining the waning attention of the others lounging at the table.

Lorant was absent mindedly plucking the bowstring of his bow, Abyss was muttering to itself and Lang and Josephine remained silent save for a strange clipping noise coming from Lang's lap.

"I have gathered you here to discuss our goals. As I have demonstrated my power by defeating the wretched Excalibur and his puny vassal, it should be fitting that you bow to me as your leader in our mission against the light."

"I'm sure you'd like that, Anal." Whisper snickers. Josephine laughs loudly at her master's words while Lang remained silent, busying his hands with something else.

"I am Annial!" Annial shouts, shaking the tower.

"Just ignore Whisper," Lorant sighs, steadying his chair. "Whisper's just trying to get a rise out of you. It's working beautifully by the way. Though with a name like that, you're asking for it."

"Rrrrrg…" Annial stifles a growl before coughing to clear his throat. "We are aiming for the same goal and if we are to succeed in that, you will follow me as I plunge this world back into the perfect Darkness that existed before the other Planes polluted us. We will extinguish the light once and for all!"

"Can someone open the curtains? Pitch black is really boring." Lorant yawns, leaning himself on the round table.

"Gladly." With a wave of her gloved hand, Josephine slides the curtains open. The soft blue light of the moon filters in through the window, illuminating the room and casting dark shadows on the marbled floor. The moon appeared so close that it was as if the tower itself stood beside the white pearl in the sky.

"Thank you. This is perfect," Lang places a potted flowering plant on to the table along with his small garden shears. "Moonlight will do well for the nightshade." He brushes a hand over the dark purple flowers. Normally, the petals of the nightshade flowers would not have been so dark but as it was raised in the shadows with Lang's magic, they were darker than a starless night. The golden center of the flowers stood out even more thanks to Lang's workings.

"Before you start complaining that we aren't listening, let me ask you something," Lang leers at Annial and his shaking shoulders. Annial was ready to throw one of them out of the tower. "When did you become conscious? A few days? A little over a week at most?"

"I had crossed over four days ago and found my vassal on that same day," Annial glares back at Lorant with a murderous intent. "Yesterday, I had defeated the most powerful Light Being on this planet. I am surprised that with how weak he was, all of you have still let him terrorize and treat you like rats."

Annial was taunting them but the others exchanged a guarded look at one another before Lorant speaks again.

"Hmph. I'd ask you if you want to take your accusation outside but I really don't see the fucking point of fist fighting with a baby," Lorant shakes his head in disappointment. "You really don't know anything about this world, do you?"

"Aaaeeeinnnnngggggggggggggggggggggrrrrrrrr." Abyss slurs glumly.

"Lang, they've grown quite well." Whisper compliments Lang's flowers from the back of his mind, losing interest in the conversation completely.

"I have slain the one who has hunted all of you to near extinction! I demand respect!" Annial stands, hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Not with that attitude. But I suppose we should at least give you an explanation. Sit." Lorant languidly points downwards and suddenly, Annial was forced back into his seat.

"How-"

"There are several things that we're going to straighten out for you," Lorant scratches the back on his head, interrupting Annial. "Number one, go fuck yourself. We don't bow to anyone. Number two, everyone has conflicting agendas."

"I have no particular interest in going back to the so called Perfect Darkness," Whisper's voice muses. "I do want things to go back to how they used to be; with all of us being equal. That way, I'd have an easier time playing around."

"And by that, Whisper means 'messing shit up' and such." Lorant narrows his eyes at Josephine and Lang.

"Couldn't have worded it better myself." Whisper laughs airily.

"I will obey whatever my master commands gladly." Lang caresses one of the flowers and glances at Lorant briefly.

"Je m'en fous…Excuse me. Force of habit." Josephine coughs. "As long as I have places to go and a place to belong, I don't care."

"As for myself, I want to either be on the other side of the planet from you assfucks or kill you," Lorant places his bow on the table, leering at his companions. "It'd make the world a safer place but unfortunately, I can't do that. Fucking rules." Lorant grumbles.

"Oh don't say that, Lorant," His master says quietly. "You don't mean that. We're all friends here."

"No we aren't." Lorant snorts, turning his nose up at the others.

"Erererererererererererererererererrrrrr." Abyss speaks, tapping the table nervously.

"Right, back to the topic at hand," Lorant scratches the back of his head. "That's what Abyss wants and that's very far from your goal. Moving on to number three, it is impossible to achieve the Perfect Darkness and destroy the Plane of Light. Absolutely impossible. As much as I hate those fuckers, we can't destroy them."

"Impossible?" Annial repeats, rising from his chair. "You are mistaken," he laughs. "I will not have a mere vassal speak to me in such a manner. You," he addresses Lorant's master directly. "What is your title?"

"Dennis."

"I didn't quite hear you. I thought you just told me that Dennis was your title."

"Yup. It's Dennis."

"Still better than Anal," Lorant snickers but catches himself quickly. "Ehem, not that I'm siding with the others."

"Control your vassal," Annial orders, glaring at Lorant. "Your servant should know his place."

"The newbie should know his place too," Lorant sneers, electricity sparking at his fingertips. "Master, shall I show him where it is?"

"If you think it's the right thing to do…"

At that moment, Annial's body became heavy. It was a struggle for him to stand and he could hardly conceal the fact that he had to put effort into remaining upright.

"How dare you?" Annial growls, his eyes glow like dark red coals. Even with his helmet on, the others could plainly see the snarl he has on his lips.

"Want me to show you?" Lorant grins wickedly and hefts his bow up, itching to fight. "Master, I will not be needing your assistance to put this beast down."

In less than a second, Annial shoots a blast of flame from his fist and it rockets straight for Lorant. With little more than a shrug, the fire is deflected by a sudden gust of wind acting as a shield for the archer.

"Not bad but there's no way you could have taken Excalibur on with this. Go ahead and turn the heat up. Are you insulting me?" Lorant laughs, lifting his bow and pulling the bowstring back. A black arrow materializes in his hand and crackles with energy, ready to pierce through the little upstart.

"I will destroy you!" Annial leaps on to the table and lunges for Lorant in a ball of flame just as he releases his arrow.

In the blink of an eye, Annial's back hits the wall and he slumps down on the ground. Lorant stares dumbfounded at the huge warrior and at the arrow that Lang had caught.

"No need for that." Lang shakes his head.

Right as Annial was going to get hit with Lorant's arrow, Lang intervened. He had jumped on the table to get between the two and thrust Annial back into the wall, extinguishing his black flames and catching Lorant's arrow at the same time.

"It isn't good manners to start a fight with someone who has invited us into his new home. If you wish to put your point across, I will fight in your stead," Lang twirls the arrow in his fingers and it elongates into a silver halberd. "Perhaps I can quell Annial's rage as well as show him what you mean, Lorant. It will also prevent needless death and injury. Does that sit well with you, Annial? It wouldn't do well for you to be defeated after such a momentous victory."

"So you will face me instead?" Annial stands, drawing his sword. "Fine. I will make you a smear on my boot and show your master who to bow to."

"Knock yourself out," Whisper snickers at the back of everyone's mind. "Will you need my assistance?" Whisper's voice caresses Lang's ear.

"I will not but I do hope you will enjoy the show," Lang turns to Lorant then and bows his head slightly. "As I will be fighting for you, may I have a favor?"

"No and I don't appreciate you stealing my thunder by the way," Lorant puts his hands on his hips. "But go ahead. I'd get carried away and kill him anyway. But like I said, I ain't giving you any favors."

"Not that kind of favor." Lang kneels on one knee to get on the same level as Lorant. He reaches towards Lorant's ear and removes an iron earring from him gently, careful not to cause any discomfort.

Lorant, who had been watching Lang as if in a trance, catches himself and backs away abruptly.

"Hey, are you pulling this shit again?"

"I will return it to you when I win, Lorant. Have no worries."

"What are you even talking about?" Lorant huffs but allows Lang to take his earring.

"Hon hon hon oh uh," Josephine coughs harshly, embarrassed. "Ho ho ho," she laughs knowingly.

"Crkcrkcrkcrkcrk?" Abyss rubs its hands together excitedly.

"Yes, definitely." Josephine nods.

"Now, let us begin." Lang bows calmly. It angers Annial more than Whisper's goading and Lang taking Lorant's favor.

"At least take this outside, please? Anal, you're filling the room with smoke." Josephine wafts the smoke away from her face out of old habit.

"It. Is. ANNIAL!" Annial slams both of his fists on the table, cracking it down the middle and setting it aflame. Roaring, he lifts the two halves of the table and throws them along with Lang at the window, shattering the glass.

Lang lets himself plummet through the air as Annial jumps out after him, leaving the others to lounge in their seats to watch.

"You will make a fine example for the others," Annial catches up to Lang, ready to run him through with his sword. Lang rolls to the side to dodge him and dives towards a nearby roof. "Running away, are you?" Annial taunts over the wind.

Lang rolls on to his back as he falls, reaching his arm out as his helmet materializes on his head from the shadows. It was an invitation.

"Fine by me!" Annial speeds up and rams his sword through Lang's chest as they crash into the roof of the main hall's roof.

A small crater in the roof forms from their crash and when the dust settles, Annial finds that there was no one pinned to the roof under his sword.

"You're strong," Lang comments, appearing beside Annial. He rubs his chest, inspecting his light armor for any scratches. Of course there wasn't any. "You lack attention, however, and your form is quite sloppy."

"How did you-" Mid-exclamation, Lang strikes at Annial and he just barely blocks Lang's halberd with the hilt of his sword.

"Reflexes are sub-par," Lang tsks, shaking his head sadly. "I almost cut your hand off."

"I will not be looked down upon by a mere servant!" Annial slashes back, hitting the middle of the staff as Lang blocks the attack.

Lang twirls the halberd, jumping back high off the roof as he deflects every one of Annial's strikes.

"The angrier you get, the sloppier you become it seems. Patience is not a strong point for you either." Lang spins the halberd in his fingers behind him mid-air before stabbing the pointed spear of the halberd through Annial's armor and into his thigh, pushing him back.

To Annial's surprise, the spear sent jolts of pain through his entire body. When he tries to grab the halberd and throw it away, it burns him through his armor. He knocks Lang away with his sword instead and when he lands back on the ground, he quickly puts space between Lang and himself to inspect his hand.

The armor didn't even have a scratch but he still feels his hand throbbing in pain.

"What did you do?"

"Had enough already? We could slow down if you like." Lang asks, approaching Annial with his halberd resting on his shoulder. His voice sounds genuinely concerned and that irritates Annial to no end.

Roaring, he charges at Lang as he escapes to another rooftop. Lang glances back to check if Annial was following just in time for him to dig the tip of his halberd into the nearby roof, swing himself behind Annial as he was about to take Lang from behind and kicks Annial across the roof, smashing the tiles.

Annial pushes himself up and charges Lang again. He slashes and slashes at Lang but each time Lang deflects and parries Annial up until he strikes the staff. It allows Lang to slide around Annial's sword, disarm him and a quick stab to Annial's knee sends him tumbling down the roof and falling into the cobblestone pathway below.

He was ready to jump back up but was met with point of Lang's halberd instead.

"A twist of my wrist and that would be the end," Lang frowns, perplexed. "I don't understand why this is happening. Perhaps your magic is more potent than your physical skill."

"Ha," Annial stares up at Lang. Lang stood over him, blocking the moon from Annial's view and casting his shadow on him. The pity in Lang's eyes was evident and that made Annial burst into flames. Lang doesn't flinch when a flaming fist closes around his ankle. "Prepare yourself then."

Lang regards him with curiosity before he lets his halberd dissipate back into wisps of shadow.

"By all means then, show me."

"You arrogant-" Annial pulls Lang down and flings him across the palace grounds, whisking him past the weeping willows and into a stone wall. A trail of fire and ash was left in his wake.

"Ouch, that wasn't bad," Lang sits up, brushing the pebbles from his shoulders as the wall collapses around him. "Show me another trick." He stands, making a beckoning motion to the heavily armored man standing in a black column of fire.

Without hesitation, Annial gathers his flames and swirls them around himself in a hellish storm. Laughing, he lets loose a concentrated blast of fire at the boy. Nothing had ever survived his flames and when his fire hits Lang dead on, Annial knew that this foolish boy would not be an exception.

The laughter dies in his throat when the flames begin to dance around Lang. They flicker around Lang and assemble into a small glowing ball in his open palm. When the last of the flames joins the sphere, Lang turns his head up to look at Annial.

"How in the world did you defeat Excalibur?" Lang shakes his head pushes the ball into his chest. For a moment, he glowed dark purple and Annial shudders involuntarily. "Even though I quite dislike Excalibur, your strength should have been nothing to him. I am confused. Perhaps you are feeling sick?"

"Enough of this!" Annial hits him again with another blast. It connects with Lang once more and pushes him through the wall out of Annial's line of sight.

"You call this nothing, worm?" Annial sneers, making his way towards the hole in the wall on the black trail of soot he created.

He stumbles on the way over a stray vine. Annial looks down to his feet to see green tendrils wrap around his boots. Small daisies pop open and remain unblemished by the nearby roaring fire.

"What sort of sorcery are you-" Annial stops, squinting his eyes to check if he was seeing correctly.

A woman with cascading pale green hair peeks out from behind the crumbling wall and smiles peacefully as if she was regarding an old friend. The woman glows as she walks out from the wall. With every step, the burnt flora under her white and gold gown grows back and from the blooming flowers, glowing orbs of light rise.

A sickly sweet scent permeates the air. Something about it made Annial dizzy.

Caught off guard, Annial doesn't notice the vines climbing his leg, rooting him to the spot. When they squeeze and crush the bones in his legs, he bellows and erupts into an intense inferno of dark flames.

When the fire settles, the vines around his legs remain unmarked. Grapes begin to grow on the vines as if to mock Annial's efforts to escape.

The woman who had replaced Lang giggles, amused at his feeble attempts. The woman's eyes narrow and her smile grows wider. The orbs of light become intensely bright; bright enough to make Annial feel sick.

The ground where they stand erupts into columns of thick vines and Annial is shot upwards.

Using a great amount of his strength, Annial chops at the vines imprisoning him until they give way. He tries to ignite his flames again but finds that something was inhibiting them from forming and making his throat constrict.

Failing at that, Annial gathers darkness around him as cover from the mysterious orbs of light and to heal his legs. It wouldn't take long to recover.

He just had to find that strange woman and cut her down to destroy the plants.

They came from nowhere and had ravaged the ground. From his high viewpoint, the vines had overtaken most of the palace. That strange scent was still tickling his senses as well. Whatever it was, it makes him uneasy and keeps him from focusing.

Out of nowhere, a kick sends his head reeling back and his whole world lights up.

Annial doesn't realize that he was falling until he smashes into a ground.

The brightness stinging his eyes fades, allowing him to see the entire world alight with white heat. The entire city had been leveled.

A young man wearing robes decorated with holly leaves stands nearby. His red eyes were glazed over with boredom and he regards Annial with as much interest as one would regard a lost ant.

Anger reawakened, Annial pulls himself up and counters the white fire with his darkness. Annial makes his shadow spread to blot out the light and strengthen himself but the man with the holly leaves rushes him.

Though the man was just barely half Annial's size, he manages to kick Annial back down on the ground and extinguish the shadows surrounding them. Two silver blades drop out of the man's sleeves. They were attached to chains that lead up the young man's arms. Before he could do anything with them, Annial throws him off high up in the air.

Annial acts quickly when he realizes the haze in his mind cleared and that he could use his fire powers again. He creates a shield of black fire around himself, blocking out the light.

Far above him, the man bearing the holly covered robes tugs at the chain attached to the back of his metal collar.

His eyes widen and chains fly out of his robes. They pierce through Annial's shield and into the ground, near impaling him. One breaks through and punctures through his forearm before swinging around and wrapping his arm tight.

Annial grunts in pain and frustration, summons his sword from the dark and attempts to cut through the chains. They remain undented and glow bright and hot. Annial grabs the chains instead, ignoring how much they were burning him and he yanks at them, hoping to bring his assailant down.

An explosion goes off as he does and it sweeps Annial away. The intense heat scorches him through his armor as he is blown away and the white light blinds him. Over the sound of the explosion, the sound of deranged laughter reaches his ears.

The sound rouses Annial and he rights himself before he hits the ground. He lands on his feet and skids back to a full stop. He stabs his sword into the ground to steady himself and glances around to search for the man wearing the holly leaves.

Instead, he came face to face with Excalibur.

Standing not even five feet away was the deceased leader of the Forces of Light in all his exalted glory. He stands tall and noble as Annial was hunched over from exhaustion.

"This…is not possible," Annial pants. "Heh, no matter. I will just slay you again!"

Annial raises his sword and he and Excalibur clash; caught once again in a deadlock.

Like the last battle, their strength was equal. It would boil down to who was more skilled.

Annial moves to disarm Excalibur and lop his head off as he did to assure his last victory. He pulls back, aims and stabs with precision at Excalibur's shoulder.

And Excalibur deflects it as if it was nothing.

Baffled, Annial tries again and doesn't let up. He smashes Excalibur with hard slash after slash and Excalibur dodges each.

Annial swings too wide and Excalibur takes the opening to slash down through Annial's shoulder. Excalibur's sword tears through Annial's armor, muscle and bone. A burning sensation courses through his entire body and makes a bloodcurdling shout

Less than a minute after their duel had started, Annial lay defeated and unable to move. Pain shoots through him from his glowing wound and Excalibur closes in to finish him.

Above Annial's eyes was the point of Excalibur's sword, ready to stab through his face. Unable to comprehend his sudden loss, Annial squirms and kicks his legs weakly. The glowing wound was sapping his strength and no amount of struggling would stop the falling blade.

The sword pierces through his skin and promptly disappears.

Excalibur, overcome by some sort of affliction of the heart, clutches at his chest and staggers back. He collapses and dissipates into thin air.

The wound Excalibur inflicted on Annial closes and he slowly gathers himself and stands, staring at the spot where Excalibur used to be in silence.

"Hmph, perhaps coming too close to me caused him to be extinguished. I may be stronger than I once thought." Annial muses before noticing that his shadow was spreading wider and wider across the blank landscape.

Mesmerized, Annial watches as his shadow envelops the land and leaks into the sky. The shadows blot out every patch of color until all that was left was a great expanse of blackness. There was nothing but himself; just darkness.

It was the Perfect Darkness.

He had returned to the Eternal Endless Darkness.

"Is this not a delusion?" Annial questions himself. This was some strange hallucination Lang and his Master had created. It could not have been anything else. "But this feels real."

How familiar it feels to Annial; this fabricated world of Darkness. Though he was almost sure that it wasn't the True Darkness, he allows himself to sink into the blackness and melds himself into the expanse. For a moment, he loses himself.

*Clip*

"What?" Annial becomes aware of something other than himself nearing.

*Clip*

A terrible sensation invades him. The world begins to quake.

*Clip*

A crack breaks through the blackness, shattering the perfection of the world. Sheer panic overtakes Annial's mind as he tries to comprehend what was leaking into the darkness, swallowing it and wiping it from reality.

*Clip*

Light was not invading his dream. Nor was it anything that had ever existed in this world. Perhaps it could have been said that it had existed before the world was born.

What Annial saw was nothing. It was true and absolute Nothing.

No Light or Darkness existed in that crack. No air existed in that space. No matter existed in that space. Space did not exist.

It was just incomprehensible nothing.

Annial could not begin to understand what he was witnessing. Was it even possible for him to be witnessing it at all?

It began to break Annial's mind.

He turns away to avoid going completely insane but that would not keep him safe.

The crack in the Darkness enlarges, spreading wider and allowing more of the world to be completely and utterly destroyed.

Annial could not move. There was no escape from the slow destruction. He feels it creeping closer and closer, devouring the existence of the world. His own thoughts were disintegrating, leaving only fear and despair and even that disappears.

Numbness is all that is left and soon it all fades into the void.

*Clip*

Annial wakes up. His screams echo through the room and causes the others to wince and cover their ears.

"Calm the fuck down!" Lorant grimaces, peeking over the unscratched table. "Stop! You're fine! Lang, do something! This is your fault." Lorant shouts over Annial's unending screams.

"Just let him let it all out. It's unhealthy to keep your feelings to yourself," Lang smooths out his plants leaves. "The screaming helps my Nightshade grow strong as well."

"He's going to break the glass with his screaming," Josephine covers the sides of her head with her hands even though she didn't need to. "Master Abyss? How in the world can you sleep through all of this?" Josephine prods the sleeping monster slumped over the table. "Did you get bored?"

"No wonder you call yourself Analate," Whisper snickers. "Your screams tell the entire story."

"Inappropriate!" Dennis chides.

"You know what? Screw your fucking flowers," Lorant fires an arrow at Annial's forehead. It hits dead center and the screaming ceases. "Better yet?"

Annial's breathing slows. He clasps his hands on the table, gathering the pieces of his broken mind together. Annial reaches up and pulls the arrow out of his head, bringing it down in front of his eyes to inspect as he crushes it in his hands.

"Lorant asked you if you felt better. Are you?" Lang rests his head on the table languidly.

Large hands reach out and wretch Lang from his seat, pulling him a breath away from Annial's furious coal eyes.

"What did you do to me?" Annial shakes him and squeezes Lang's shoulders, creasing the metal of his armor. "What sort of lies did you show me?"

"Lies?" Lang raises a brow. "You thought those were lies? I was showing you a simulation of our memories to explain Lorant's thinking to you. Was that not a suitable method of teaching?"

"Of course it was," Whisper assures Lang. "Anal is just a bit too dense to understand. Anal should also understand that if he touches what is mine, he will suffer greatly."

Annial's mind gets assaulted by a terrible ache as Whisper growls those words. It weakens him enough to release Lang and makes him fall to his knees.

"You understand how strange this is now, don't you?" Josephine walks up behind Lang to stare down at Annial. "The Beings of the Light are mighty. What you saw was only a portion of their power. You really toned them down, didn't you Lang?"

"I did," Lang sighs, brushing himself off. "Master Annial lasted five minutes with Persephine, seven with Holly and less than one with Excalibur. When the fabricated Darkness came, he gave in immediately."

"What a pushover," Lang scoffs, walking around the table to sneer at Annial. "Excalibur may be a brute but his strength is unquestionable. I refuse to believe that someone like you could last longer than a second with him let alone all three of those fuckers."

"And even if we did destroy all the Beings of Light, you saw what happened after," Dennis murmurs, his sorrow mixing in with his dread. "You weren't the first to try to gather our powers and fight against the Light. And should you succeed in your goal, know that you were not the first in that either. What happened after the near victory was…illuminating to say the least. Pardon the pun."

The memory of that event casts a foul mood across the Beings and their vassals. Though their vassals were not around to witness the first collapse of the world, their shared consciousness with their Masters allowed them to see the horror that awaited when the world's balance becomes overthrown.

"Thinking about that would drive even me crazy." Whisper's voice falters.

"The Perfect Darkness…it is impossible?" Annial pants, clutching his helmet as he lay on the ground.

"Once the Elemental Planes have converged, nothing must upset their balance lest we turn not to the once Endless Abyss, but to nothing. The Darkness had lasted for a little while but if it had went on, we would have been turned into true Nothing." Dennis' voice fades into silence.

They stand over the fallen Master, pitying his late birth. Lorant turns his back on the others and heads for the door.

"Your cause is lost. The Light is too strong to fight alone and even if you win, you're still pretty much fucked. Here's some advice. Stay away from me and just go on surviving as long as you can until they hunt you down for what you did to Excalibur. I won't be around to see it." Lorant opens the heavy doors to the empty hall, ready to leave.

"Master? Shall I rouse Master Abyss and take leave as well?" Lang bows his head.

"Nothing more to see." Josephine gently pats Abyss' back to wake the sleeping master.

"Let us leave this place. The Darkness will not last long," Whisper huffs. "Lorant, mind holding the door open for us?"

"Go suck on Excalibur's neck stump." Lorant swears, halfway out the door.

"Stop!" Annial rises to his feet and the doors slam shut. Lorant jumps back into the room just before he gets crushed between the stone doors.

"What the fuck is your problem? We told you, there's no helping-" Annial tosses a round object into Lorant's arms. "What the shit is this supposed to be-er oh fuck!" Lorant flings the severed head of Excalibur's vassal across the room. It bounces off of Abyss' groggy head and Josephine catches it in the curve of her boot, juggling it with her feet as her Master laughs.

"You are not happy with my gift?" Annial asks.

"No man! What the fuck?" Lorant gasps, wiping some sort of sticky moisture off of his hands. "That's disgusting!"

"Haha, where were you keeping it Anal?" Whisper snorts. "Not where I'm thinking I hope."

"I have been informed by the others below that you and Master…Dennis have once dueled with Excalibur and it had ended in a draw. The farthest any Being had come defeating him before myself of course," Annial walks past Josephine, snatches the head away and offers it to Lorant once more. "If it is true that Excalibur was once as strong as you have said, this should belong to you. I merely finished him off for you."

"Are you serious? That fucking thing is dripping all over the floor!" Lorant shrinks away from the head. "What's with the sudden change in character? You want something from me?"

Noticing his discomfort, Annial uses his flames to cauterize the bleeding neck and once again, pushes the head towards Lorant.

"Is this what it means by returning a favor? The other vassal returned your ear decoration, did he not?"

"Yes but that isn't how it works! Lang didn't even do that right. I ain't your lady!"

"Awfully defensive." Josephine snickers and Lang speaks softly into her ear. Both smile then and Abyss jingles gleefully.

"Hey, fuck you," Lorant growls, finally snatching the head from Annial and holds it under his arm. "Happy now, I took the fucking head."

"Excellent, you have accepted my offer to work with me."

"What? What? What the shit are you talking about?" Lorant demands.

"Good work, you and I have eliminated the first of our enemies. Our coordination is matched by none! Soon, many more will fall to our might."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Lorant glances at the others before he realizes what he had just accepted. "No way. I ain't helping you. Taking the head means nothing. I told you already. Keep my Master and I out of your disaster."

"Hmmmhmmm, smart Anal. Didn't think you were that clever at all." Whisper laughs.

"Impressive wordplay, I do admit." Lang steps forward.

"I thank you as well, young vassal," Annial makes a sweeping motion towards Lang. "Had you not informed me of the consequences of my plan, our destruction would have been assured. You and your affiliates will make a fine second in command."

"You're pulling us into this as well?" Lang pulls the Nightshade on the table towards himself and pats the dirt down.

"He requires two hands to handle his work," Josephine wags a finger at Annial. "Greedy. Absolutely greedy."

"As my right and left hand, I promise you, Master Whisper," Annial bows slightly, barely hiding his hurt pride. "Though my dream of Eternal Darkness is impossible, I will now strive to show the wage war on the Light and bring the powers of Darkness back to its former glory. As you have seen, Excalibur has been slain by the joint efforts of my underling and I."

"Shut the fuck up, I ain't your underling you pushy conniving freeloading-"

"Gaze upon the exquisite Darkness it has brought us!" Annial presents the blackened city of Beacon. "The calamity is nowhere to be seen! We need not completely destroy them. We need only to eliminate their leaders and keep them in check for our goal to be met."

"I promise you, Master Whisper, that the balance between the Light and Dark will be shifted back to our favor and that you will find endless amusement in our work."

"Done. The deal is sealed." Whisper agrees immediately, as if Whisper had been waiting for the correct offer.

"Really?" Annial and Lorant exclaim at the same time.

"O-of course," Annial coughs, choking back a tired wheeze. "I expect absolute respect from your vassals."

"As you wish, Master Annial." Josephine and Lang speak and bow in unison. "That is, if you can keep it." Lang warns with a grin, making Annial stagger back.

"What, are you crazy?" Lorant stamps his foot in frustration. "You're planning something again, aren't you? I'm warning you, whatever you're planning I'll put an end to it."

"And where would there be a better place to watch these cretins than at my side," Annial moves to stand next to Lorant. He dearly wanted to strangle the troublesome boy but he had to keep going. "You will be able to keep these evil villains in check as well as bring justice to the Beings of Light that have antagonized you for oh so very long."

"…He has a point, Lorant." Dennis says nervously, feeling Lorant's temper rise.

"And Abyss, what is it that you desire?" Annial reaches a hand out to the crouched monster.

"Arebacongestatata."

"Ah yes…I have absolutely no idea what you are saying. What is Master Abyss saying?"

"Beats me," Everyone could hear the shrug in Whisper's voice. "No one understands anything Abyss says."

"You imbeciles I-…"Annial covers his near breakdown with another cough. "Whatever Master Abyss wishes, it shall be done as long as we strive for the same goal."

Abyss remains unmoving and Annial starts to shake on his feet. He tenses his muscles, ready to throttle the Being if it refused. Annial was done with groveling for the next fifty lifetimes.

Finally, Abyss nods and its head promptly hits the table as it nods off again.

"Then we are settled?" Annial asks.

"Shit, we are, aren't we? Fuck, we are! Shit!" Lorant punches the door angrily.

"Lorant, please!" Dennis tries to calm his vassal.

"We have agreed for the most part," Josephine crosses her arms. "No need to pretend anymore. You can sit down if you like. You must be exhausted after all of that bullshitting."

Annial falls into one of the chairs, exhausted and mortified by his desperation. Though it was a shaky alliance with his leadership only half assured and his grand scheme almost ruined, he would have to make do with what he had. Annial had only existed for a short time after all. After experiencing what Lang had put him through, the insolent brat, he accepts that he would have to adapt to survive.

"Master Annial, if I may suggest our first course of action?" Lang kneels in front on Annial. Annial finds that he quite likes Lang when he was submissive and on his knees. The strange feral look in Lang's eyes still disturbed Annial though. He tries not to look too hard at them.

"What?" Annial frowns at Lang as Lorant keeps kicking and swearing at the wall.

"We must sink this city into the depths of the sea."

Longer chapter and a great difference from the previous. I guess I'll talk about just a few things.

A lot of exposition happened and I hope it was understandable.

The Planes of Light and Darkness aren't the only Planes in this universe that had a hand in creating this world. It's just that stuff happened with them and it'll be the main focus of next chapter.

Annial is a very young Being but he's smart enough to trick and beg his way into gaining the other's favor.

Remember when I said that I was going to put this story in my shared Deviantart account. I changed my mind. The Misc section would probably be the best place for this. As I have said before, I'll move it next chapter.

That's it really. I don't want to give anything away in the chapter notes so I hope you'll stick around for the next installment of this prequel. Thank you very much for reading.