And so, as he found himself surrounded by the void, and it didn't take long for Mikazuki Augus to realize that something was off.
Though he wasn't a stranger to darkness, with space being a good example of it, the pilot would be lying if he said that this didn't feel like a special case. Everything was so damn black around here, so much so that the only other thing that Mika could see as he floated around the void being varying shades of black. It was… rather odd, and if not for how he could see his own body, Mika would've thought that he was dead.
Oh wait… he was dead, wasn't he?
Yeah, he definitely was. The guy remembered his life slipping from him as he sat within the cockpit of Barbatos Lupus Rex, and there was no way he'd survive something like that. Of course, considering how he was dead… then where exactly was he now?
'Humans are reborn when they die, aren't they?' thought Mika as he floated upside down in the void, tugging on his Tekkadan jacket as he did so. The green jacket floated behind him like a strange cape as he did so, with his hair quickly becoming messy within a handful seconds as the pilot crossed his arms. 'If so… where the Hell am I-"
"Oh? A newcomer? How interesting."
At that, the pilot blinked in surprise at that distorted, somewhat demonic voice, one that sounded neither male nor female, could be heard. It was powerful, yet oddly pleasant, and Mika wasted little time in doing his best to turn towards whoever had spoken to him. And, admittedly, he felt his breath get stuck in his throat when he saw the one who had spoken, though in his defence, the thing that spoke to him was certainly a sight to behold in all the wrong ways.
A monstrous beast of titanic proportions, the 'Great Red Fly' that stood before Mikazuki was certainly something. The overall look of the beast resembled a massive fly with a great white mane, with a pair of massive circular bulbs with numerous holes in them apparently acting as its eyes and a monstrous maw with quite a few deadly looking teeth. A total of six three digit clawed arms could be seen sticking out of its sides, and about four fly-like wings protruded from its back.
Upon seeing this… thing, Mikazuki righted himself back up and looked the 'Great Fly', as he decided to call this thing, in the… eyes? Yeah, eyes, he reckoned that those things on its apparent face could be considered eyes. The thing seemed to dwarf Mika in size, being nearly thrice his height, so much so that the pilot had to raise his head up rather high to actually look it in the eyes.
Even then, it took quite a lot of effort to actually maintain eye contact. Sure, he's seen many terrible things in his past, what with him being a former child soldier and whatnot, though the Great Fly's physical body was definitely near the top of that list. Of course, Mika still had his pride, and as such, he maintained eye contact regardless of his current unease.
"Newcomers are not common here, and those who remain as long as you have are even less so. But regardless, welcome to the void, child. To have died so tragically that your soul was flung here, you must have been quite the figure whilst alive," commented the Great Fly, its voice sounding strangely polite yet at the same time, somehow condescending, as Mika simply stared up at the thing, raising a brow when he noticed how the fly's voice seemed to be echoing all around him. He didn't comment on it, however, as the Fly continued speaking, chuckling as it did. "No need to be afraid, child. I don't wish to kill the only source of conversation I've had in the past few millenia so soon. Tell me your name, if you will?"
No response from Mika, who still remained silent, unsure of how to actually respond to this… thing, prompting the Great Fly's eyes to squint(?) briefly before they widened, almost as though the beast just had an epiphany.
"Ah, I see. Where are my manners," apologised the Great Fly, its monstrous maw curving up into a smile as it rubbed its chin, chuckling a little to itself as it continued speaking. "Please call me the Great Fly, or Beelzebub if you wish, young one. Now, it is only polite for you to introduce yourself now."
Well, at least Mika got the 'Great Fly' part correct, he thought. And Beelzebub, huh? It had a nice ring to it. Hell, it even sounded demonic, almost on par with Barbatos, though just not as epic, in Mika's humble opinion, though he quickly disregarded that thought and glanced up at Beelzebub with a raised brow before shrugging.
He decided that, considering how he didn't have much to lose, considering how he was dead and all, there was no real harm in answering the Great Fly's question.
"Ah… Mikazuki. Mikazuki Augus," introduced Mikazuki, and to that, the Great Fly, Beelzebub, appeared surprised before it chuckled a little.
"I see. Named after the Cresent Moon, eh? How intriguing," quipt Beelzebub as it rubbed its chin thoughtfully, eyeing Mika from ahoge to toe thoughtfully as it chuckled. "Fitting for more than one reason. Regardless, I will say again, you must have died tragically in order to end up here for as long as you have."
"... I guess," muttered Mika, shrugging a little as he shoved his hands into his pockets. Honestly, he reckoned that he would've died in a more painful way. He probably deserved worse than dying contently in Barbatos Lupus Rex's cockpit, though he couldn't complain regardless. If anything, he wished to know more about where he was rather than how contently he had died, and considering how he could only speak to one person at the moment, the pilot opted to just ask Beelzebub about that. "... where am I?"
"The void, child! The small pocket dimension that separates the living world from the depths of Hell! Where Lucifer locked me away after that stunt of me trying to take over as Hell's ruler. Rather rude of her, all things considered. Other demons have done worse and they don't get the eternal exile punishment!" explained Beelzebub, its voice echoing throughout the void as it spoke, gesturing dramatically all the while. Mika understood so little of what was just told to him as he listened to the Great Fly, finding himself rather amused at its gestures. Sure, as horrific as it was, it didn't seem hostile so far. Hell, it was just talking to him, so he may as well listen. Not like he had anything else to do anyways. "Regardless, I doubt you'll be here for much longer. So just do whatever you want until you fade away. Or not. Staring contests with me are ill advised of course. I'll win every match."
"Ah," replied Mika, short an simple as he nodded, and at that, there was a short period of silence as Mikazuki and Beelzebub stared at one another, with the pilot floating around awkwardly while the Great Fly just watched him with its expressionless face. During this time, Mika found himself getting used to the presence of Beelzebub, so much so that he ended up staring at it for quite some time without looking away to keep his gag reflexes from kicking in.
Besides, the only thing he could stare at aside from the Great Fly was the varying shades of black in the void, and that got boring real quick.
"You're still here. Weird, typically those who come down disappear by now," commented Beelzebub after some time, resting three of its six clawed hands on its belly as it spoke. Two others were clasped together while the last was resting against nothing in particular as it propped its head up, a telltale sign of it being bored. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I don't mind company, but you don't talk much, and thus you're bad company. At least a cussing match would've been entertaining."
"..." no comment from Mika, who just stared at the Great Fly indifferently, and for perhaps the first time in millenia, Beelzebub felt a chill go up its spine. Strange, this child didn't seem to be intimidated by its beastly form in the slightest. If anything, he seemed completely neutral, something that made Beelzebub acknowledge something. The boy's lack of care for the demonic, coupled with how long Mika had remained in the void, however, prompted Beelzebub to snap its clawed fingers in sudden acknowledgement, causing an echo to roar through the void as Mika looked at it in confusion.
"Well, child, since you seem to be stuck here for some time, why don't I tell you a tale?" insisted Beelzebub, smiling toothily as Mika raised a brow, seeming neutral with that as the Great Fly chuckled. "I see you have no objections, so allow me recite the tale of The Helltaker-"
And just as luck would have it, right as the word Helltaker had left Beelzebub's mouth, Mika poofed out of the void, causing the Great Fly to pause momentarily before waving its arms around dramatically.
"GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!"
In spite of having lost its only source of conversation, however, the Great Fly was quick to recompose itself, sighing as it focused a large amount of magic into its palm. Sure, it has been over several hundred millennia since it last used magic, but it has not forgotten the basics.
"Hmph. Legends say that when a human manages to remain in the void for an excruciating amount of time, they are destined to do heinous deeds in the afterlife," commented the Great Fly as he managed to focus a massive amount of magic into its palm, creating a small sphere as it peered into the afterlife with great interest. "Many more speak of a single human, one who did not find much excitement in seeing the demonic, the Helltaker, systematically dismantling the entire structure of Hell and throw it into chaos, thus weakening the barrier of the void just enough to allow me to escape…"
A short pause followed, with the Great Fly chuckling a little as the sphere in its palm brightened, and before long, it allowed Beelzebub to observe whatever Mikazuki was doing via magic, magic that was powerful enough to penetrate the void, though not enough to actually catch the attention of a certain ruler…
"This meeting of ours is too coincidental to be anything outside of fate, Mikazuki Augus! You must be the fated Helltaker! Show me that I am correct, Crescent Moon! Show me how you kick Lucifer's tight behind!"
And with that, the Great Fly snickered to itself in demonic glee.
"Oh, how I wish I had some popcorn for this!"
You ever felt bored?
Yeah I was bored when I wrote this. Regardless, this marks the beginning of Mika's journey to become the Helltaker!
Man this can only end in disaster.