Chapter 30

The Other Side

The prison cell welcomed the little child with a cold, empty air as the guard tossed him into the cell with a disgusted look on his face. It had been hours before the guard had left him all alone locked in the dark cell, but he could still remember the look on his face everytime the guard had to glance over at him. Now it was this demon in front of the prison cell who looked like he wanted to negotiate with him. Who was he? And why did he just appear here all of a sudden? This demon wanted something from the child and if it meant getting out of this god-awful prison in return, then why not?

"Don't be frightened, little one..." the demon spoke sympathetically as he stared at the tears running down the child's cheeks. "Tell me your name."

"Wh-who are you? ...And ho-how are you standing l-like that...?" stuttered the little boy as he looked at the pale skinned figure through the bars floating right in front of him. "And how d-did you get here!"

The amused demon chuckled in return as he spoke, "Too many questions, my boy... you ask too many questions. But don't worry... i'll tell you everything. Everything you want to know. So tell me your name."

"It's... Hakhim." the child hesitated before answering, "Now what is it that you want with me?"

Ignoring the question, the demon simply pondered about the name the child had just told him. "Hakhim... my, they'd be happy with that one. It's a lovely name! So Hakhim... the reason i'm here is because we both want the same thing. Which is for you to be free, isn't that right?"

Suddenly, the expression in Hakhim's eyes changed from fear and sadness as a light of hope gleamed in his eyes. "Y-You'll take me away from here? But how...? There are all those guards and..." he started to speak but tears filled his eyes once again just at the thought. The demon simply kneeled down before him and lent him a hand in between the bars.

"Listen, Hakhim... I know everything about what's happened here. My name is Alphonso, and i'm from a place far away from this world. I'm here to take you along with me."

"But wh-why...?" asked Hakhim as he squinted while looking at the demon's almost-colorless face.

The demon sighed before giving his quick summary, "I know this may sound odd but the ruler of our clan, Zaphir, and his wife need you with us. You may not know, but us demons are born with the curse of never being able to bear a child due to our nature. This is the reason the hierarchy never goes down through generations, but is instead unanymously chosen as the well-wisher of our desires."

"A d-demon...!" Hakhim responded frighteningly. He didn't quite follow what Alphonso was trying to explain but the thought of a demon standing right in front of him was enough to divert his attention.

Alphonso, however, went on without looking at Hakhim once. "But one of our kind is bent upon our destruction and plots to overthrow both the chief and his wife so he can reign in our world. We can't allow that to happen due to his ideals... that's why if anything were to happen to the chief, we need you as the heir. You're only human, that's why you can be considered Zaphir's son."

"But why me...?"

"Don't be silly..." the floating demon shook his head solemnly. "We both need each other. You're alone, with no one to depend on, and no one to feed you... we will give you all that. In return, we only want you to come with us."

This demon wanted the child to be an heir to their demon clan? How could he make such a decision? Not only was he just a child, but he wasn't even a demon. At this point, however, the only thing that was in his mind was to escape this Klausian prision cell. But that wasn't going to be easy at all.

"How will we get past the guards...?" asked the little boy bringing up the same topic.

"Don't worry, I already took care of them." Alphonso spoke as he drew out a bloodlusted sword. "Step back!"

He struck his sword towards the locked cell, but as expected there was no effect on the strong cell. Just then... the blade began to emit a strong aura which looked as if it was sucking everything inside it. The demon quickly drew his blade back with a sudden pull and broke open the gate of the cell with it.

"Now come on! Let's hurry!" he said as he pulled out Hakhim by one of his arms.

"B-b-but..."

"Don't worry. Once we get there... i'll explain everything."

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It was the first time Xeim had seen the dark emptiness fill the air which stretched out for miles after a long, long time. The air was odorless, as if it wasn't even there in the first place. At first sight, it didn't look that much different from Grix. There was the same darkness, same silence, but one thing was sure... Grix was nowhere near as empty as this. Xeim recalled many events that brought him to this place and why he was even here in the first place. Mirage, meanwhile, was now beginning to wonder who Xeim really was. Why didn't she think about this before? She always took it upon herself to understand her students both physically and mentally at the dojo. Not being able to do so was a sign of a weakness for any mentor who doesn't understand his pupil. Mirage was successful in doing so with all of her students, but at this point she began to doubt that about Xeim. Maybe she had never understood him all this time. How could she possibly teach him anything if she wasn't even capable of that? Ever since he mentioned having relations with Daemonium, everyone was curious about Xeim's origins and what he really wanted out of all this.

"So where are we headed for, Xeim?" Maria asked giving Xeim a look of doubt. She insisted they head back to the Diplo at first, but Mirage didn't want to leave Xeim to do all this alone. Maria was known for her blunt responses and strict actions not letting emotions get in her way and all these qualities made her to be quite a formidable leader of Quark... possibly the best. Not even Mirage or the joking Cliff could match to her capabilities, Mirage felt she was more suited as a leader inside the dojo rather than Quark. However, Maria's refusal to take part within Quark was still apprehensible.

"We're going to try and head into the ruins of my clan." Xeim spoke baffling everyone with his words.

"What kind of clan? And what's this about you being a demon?" asked the punk-haired Lieber.

Xeim didn't stop in his steps, he simply trudged on as if the questions didn't mean anything to him. It wasn't a question Xeim would hear someone asking everyday, but he still felt no harm in telling his comrades about the incidents in his past. "When I was young... a demon known as Alphonso brought me to the realm of Daemonium in order to protect our clan from falling to bits from the clutches of a certain demon."

"That demon was Rodrigue, right?" Mirage asked while crossing her arms.

"How did you know!" a shocked Xeim gave her a sudden look.

"Rodrigue... I noticed he mentioned something during the fight. I can't seem to remember everything that well, but I think it was about you." mentioned Welch quietly.

Xeim nodded in his usual way adjusting his scarf, "Yes... it was indeed Rodrigue. Due to his intentions, both Zaphir and Karin... who were my step-parents at the time feared Rodrigue might pull some strings to take over our clan. That's why they needed an heir, someone who they could call their son and someone they could toss the baton too if something were to happen to them. And that was me."

"They dragged you all the way here!" asked Maria.

"Well, 'drag' isn't really the right word but let's just say we had a deal so I agreed to come with them."

"That's all nice and dandy, but what exactly are we goin' after here?" Lieber questioned.

"Isn't it odd that Rodrigue, the only remaining member of the Outer Alliance, was spared? And why did he run off in the first place? Rodrigue had gained the Alliance's trust for a reason, i'm sure. I need to know everything, I can't just live without finding out. And when I do, i'll give him something he's deserved for a long time." Xeim said while clenching his fist tightly.

"And you think he's here?" Mirage asked.

"I'm sure of it."

The rocky narrow path which led them to a higher area seemed to be composed of totally different elements from Grix even though it had the same rough surface. It acted like some sort of bridge over a huge dark opening that didn't seem to end. It was almost like the area beneath the land was a bottomless abyss. Whatever it was, none of them dared to even attempt to figure out what was down there as they kept walking impatiently.

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Hakhim just felt more and more uneasy at every passing moment before he arrived on the realm of Daemonium accompanied by Alphonso. But as he went further, it was also harder for him to convince himself that he was better off where he was. Maybe it was the same cold, empty air in the area that made him feel like it was no different than the prison cell. Swallowing his emotions, he followed Alphonso to a large facility in the middle of a platform where he would be taken to see the chief demon of their clan.

"This is the one?" Zaphir, the chief, asked giving a look of doubt to the little scarred boy.

"Indeed it is." answered Alphonso.

Zaphir's wife, Karin, was taken aback just as she shot a glance towards Hakhim and spoke with a look of dejection, "B-b-but he's-..."

"Yes, I know." Alphonso replied bluntly.

Zaphir sighed once again at the sight and threw a firm look at the other demon, "Send him inside for now, i'll need to have a word with you about this."

"Tell me, what is your name er... young man?" asked Karin a little nervously.

"Hakhim."

Zaphir gave his inferior a look of impatience, "Alphonso..."

Getting one of the members within the facility to escord the young child to his quarters where he would have to wait for Zaphir's decision, Alphonso attempted to persuade the chief restating their situation. "Zaphir, I can understand your concerns but once the rebels start hearing about this it may start to get even worse. We'll have to make everyone understand."

"I suppose we'll have to get used to it... but i'm still not sure." Zaphir sighed as he slumped down slowly.

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The ruins of the demonic clan compelled Xeim to reminisce his time back at the time when he first arrived in the area. It was shaped and figured almost exactly the same way, even the same rocky platform was there, but yet it was still so different. Yet again, Xeim could sense the emptiness in the area as he looked in the far vast regions of the ruins that stretched out miles before the platform on which the clan's quarters stood. It was had been half blown to bits and looked as if it had been isolated for a long time. Just as they started to pace past the area towards the platform, dark figures began appearing right in front of them. As Mirage looked on, she noticed that the same figures began appearing behind them, and then beside them... they surrounded everyone and as they came closer, they looked quite familiar. They were demons, and they teleported to the area just like Rodrigue had in the Pesotto Forest on Vanguard. One of the figures that appeared before them, was indeed, Rodrigue himself. His pale blue face sparkled in the dark while his silver hair draped over his colorless skin.

"Ah... my. If it isn't you again!" Rodrigue snickered as he looked at his companions in amusement. "Forgive my rudeness, but had you informed me you were coming here earlier, perhaps I could have provided you a much warmer welcome."

"Cut the crap, Rodrigue!" an irritated Lieber gestured.

"Hah, I knew i'd found you here. And it's about time we settled this..." Xeim spoke as he stood out in front. Rodrigue threw one glance at him, it took him a few seconds to remember everything, but once he did... he let out a burst of laughter. Slowly, his other companions that surrounded the members of Quark joined in the laughter.

"Bahahahaa! Well, well... if it isn't little Hakhim! I somehow knew you were going to try and find your way through to me again. So tell me, are you here to suffer the same consequences as that old bag and the filthy wretch!"

Xeim did his best to fend off the taunts and ignore the jeers towards him, he tried to concentrate the situation around him instead. But it was no use... Xeim burst in anger and tossed a downward overhead smash towards the filthy demon as he jumped a couple of meters above the ground. "Grrr... i'm gonna kill you!" Just as he was about to feel his hand on the head of the demon, however, Rodrigue only left a trail of dust behind him before he teleported a few feet away from him.

"Oops! Looks like you missed, Hakhim! Hahahahaha!" More taunts and laughter. However, the others couldn't take it any longer either. But just as they started to advance towards the demon, Rodrigue simply backed away. "I'd love to stick around and play a little longer but it won't be fair if I take all the fun and my little cretins just watch, now would it?" Suddenly, the other demonic creatures which resembled gremlins surrounded the group before Rodrigue teleported off with another loud laughter.

"Damn! There's far too many of them! Let's get away from here!" Xeim advised as he began running past the area at full speed. The rest followed at his command, due to their unfamiliarity with Daemonium.

"Heheheeee! Firebolt!" the gremlins chimed as they began to dig their small tridents into the ground casting spells to hit their foes. However, Mirage and the others were able to escape from any drastic impacts from the firebolts that flew in their direction. Just as they found cover, and the area seemed clear, everyone placed their eyes on Xeim who took a while to look back in return.

"Man, we can forget about getting outta here now! Thanks a lot, big guy!" Lieber whined.

"I never asked you to come along in the first place..." was the response from the scarfed man.

Lieber didn't like the reply he got, so he shot back again. "You wanna start something!"

"Stop it, you two." Mirage said raising her hand to smack anyone who would dare to say another word after her. She settled her hand back down after both Xeim and Lieber fell silent once again and spoke. "Xeim, first of all... what is Rodrigue after? And why did your clan seclude him anyway?"

Xeim crossed his arms and took a deep breath. He looked pained about something but as usual, no one would be able to understand what was on his mind at the time. "Have you guys heard of the demon king, Asmodeus?"

"Asmodeus... he was once known as the demon king, wasn't he?" Lieber questioned as everyone threw a sarcastic look towards him.

"Duh! That's what he just said, you dope!" shouted Welch.

"You mean the former ruler of this universe who was vanquished years ago?" Mirage asked ignoring the mindless banter and cutting straight to the point.

Xeim confirmed her response with a nod, "Yeah... his ultimate goal was to fill the hearts of all humans with rage and anger. He was also the source of a deadly virus that was spreading over one of the underdeveloped planets years ago. These events caused him to be slain in order to get rid of the virus once and for all."

"I stumbled upon something like that in the Federation records during my research on the Diplo." said Maria who was beginning to see light in Xeim's elaboration more and more.

"After his demise, Daemonium was never ruled by a dictator or a king. Instead, they divided into many clans since now that Asmodeus was no longer in authority, we had our own different mindsets and different goals, free to fulfill our own desires. Clashes and battles had taken place in the struggle to become the next lord of the Daemonium realm. And this is why the clans were formed. But these clans weren't enough, supposedly soon after the fall of Asmodeus... a group of rebel had been formed shortly. These rebels demanded that due to everyone's different ideals, no one was fit to be king. Asmodeus was the only ruler to ever exist and it was their responsibility to only follow that. So while the demons didn't feel the need to interfere with the humans unless necessary, the group of rebels wanted to follow the path of Asmodeus and continue supplying the hearts of all humans with vengeful desires. Rodrigue was one of the rebels who had his eyes set upon not only our clan, but to become the next ruler of this world."

"And...? Did he succeed?" asked Maria curiously.

Xeim shook his head in a slight disappointment. "I don't know... but he murdered both Zaphir and Karin ruthlessly and was after me as well since I was the heir. I couldn't stick around and keep looking after this place so I was somehow able to make my way out of this place forever... until now."

"That's terrible..." Mirage whispered with a sorrowful expression on her face. It was all beginning to fall in place now. Xeim wasn't here just to follow Rodrigue and pay him back for his terrible deeds, but Mirage could tell that he wanted to see his home once again. These were places Xeim once feared just at the sight of it, but in time he began to grew fond of the locality. As empty and shallow as it may be, home is home. If there was anything invaluable Xeim considered about himself, it would definitely have to be the memories of his past.

"Hey! Look oout!" Welch screamed as she noticed the same dark-colored gremlins dart in their direction with an enormous speed. They were able to catch up to them in no time and it doesn't look like they were just going to let every one of the get away.

"Gravitation!" Misty chanted as an emanation of energy befell the ground below the enemies and held them in place as if the ground was pulling them underneath it exerting a massive amount of force. "Quickly! Let's move on now."

With no time to awe at Misty's abilities as an alchemist, everyone followed Misty's suggestion and left the pack of gremlins behind to head towards the rocky platform and entered the ruins of the large facility.

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The door to one of the quarters which Hakhim was resting in burst open as if a bolt of thunder had just cracked it open. Startled from the impact, Hakhim quickly got onto his feet to see Alphonso standing in the doorway looking panicked and helpless.

"Alphonso! What's wrong!" asked Hakhim as he quickly ran to his aid and saw a large gash on his shoulder which he clasped with his other hand tightly from pain. He was barely able to speak as he tried desperately to look at Xeim in the eyes.

"Ha...khim... get out of here...! Quickly!"

He noticed his heart began to pace faster and faster after listening to the demon's words. "Alphonso! What are you saying? What happened to you!"

Grunting and moaning, Alphonso tried with all his strength to give Hakhim an answer. "Th-they fooled us... the allies... th-they were in collaboration with those b-bastards... d-dammit! Ugh! The re-bels are already here n-now... get out b-before they get you!"

"What about... mom? and dad?" Hakhim asked but he could already guess what had happened to them from Alphonso's expression just as a tear started to trickle down his cheek.

"I'm sorry... Hakhim..."

"No..." Hakhim looked down as he shook his head vigorously. "I can't run away! What about our clan!"

"D-Don't worry about it... i'm sorry to-to have dragged you into all of-f thiss Hakhim... Zaph-ir and Karin..." Alphonso was beginning to cough out blood at this point as he layed down on the ground on Hakhim's lap helplessly. "They l-loved you..."

"No... I know they didn't like me, but they still took care of me. That's why I loved them so much." Hakhim responded boldly as he began to wipe off the teards on his dry cheeks.

"No... r-remember the task Zaphir left you l-l-last time...! He... gave it to... y-you because... both him and Karin... w-were beginning to love you... ugh!"

"Alphonso!" Hakhim looked down at the demon as he heard his last words before he fell to his death. Alphonso was no longer breathing. Hakhim instantly ran outside and decided to take the rear exit which hadn't been used in years. Cobwebs and a pile of mist covered the area like it was a house of antiques. But just as he was able to escape from the clan's facility, he was instantly spotted.

"He's there! Don't let that human get away!" a high-pitched voice hit Hakhim's ears. The now fifteen year old Hakhim began to pace past the endless area of the clan's realm trying desperately to get away from this place once and for all. He didn't want everyone in there to suffere, he thought about heading back... but Hakhim knew, he wouldn't be able to do anything. He couldn't do anything to save Inus. He couldn't do anything to save his mother, Jina. He couldn't do anything to save Zaphir and Karin. What could he possibly do now? Nothing!

"You think you can get away!" a different voice could be heard. It looked like it was still coming from the same amount of distance. No matter how fast or how far he ran, it was as if there was no use of it at all. They would eventually get him once he's exhausted and slaughter him. The threats and taunts could be heard once again at a much closer distance at this time. Was he getting slower? It must be the exhaustion. Just when he thought of throwing away any hope he had left and just dropping himself where he was to take the last few moments of his life to get some rest, a thik void began to form straight in front of him. It was shaped like a whirlpool and it looked oddly familiar. It was a space-time vortex! Just like the one he had spotted years ago... this was his chance now. Thrilled and scared at the same time, he would be able to jump into the vortex and get out of the area once and forever. And that would be the last thing the boy known as Hakhim would have to do.