Changelog:

Minor grammar changes. - 29,1,2023

Fixed timeline, changed the scenes slightly. - 31,1,2023

.

A cloaked young man tread lightly towards what was once a place of religious worship, in a time long before the gods descended. He wore a black cloak that covered most of his body, but what could be seen was a patch of white hair on his head and fluorescent, rubellite eyes that shimmered under the midnight sun. Standing in front of the stone arc, he pushed open the dilapidated, dusty, door of the abandoned church that resided in Daedalus Street, Orario's "Slums", revealing what remained of its former glory. Rows upon rows of moldy, wooden benches were scattered all across the room, the walls retained only a fraction of what was once there as moss and plants could be seen growing through the seams and cracks of stone. Basked in the moonlight that shone through the shattered tinted glass windows of the abandoned church and open roof.

Yes, this was the former home of the Hestia Familia. It was also the home where Bell Cranel grew up in, until he made a name for himself as an adventurer and moved into a more nicer home within one of the residential districts of Orario with his Goddess, His mother. He descended the spiral stairway leading to a basement that was albeit dirty, his home. There was a green and yellow striped couch towards the left of the room with a wooden coffee table right in front of it, in the middle of the room there was a bed that could seemingly fit two people. On his right was a kitchen and door leading to the toilet. Taking off his equipment and setting his cloak down on the coat hangar, Bell got comfortable laying down on the couch, reminiscing about his life up until this moment.

At the age of 14, he manifested a skill that increased his growth in proportion to his emotions, breaking several records, levelling up once every few months, the gods and goddesses gave him the alias 'Astrapi' for his lightning magic, with many gods wishing the rabbit was a member of their own factions. He was a rising star in the labyrinth city that gained the attention and ire of many adventurers who believed he cheated his level ups, these same people would come to respect him after he took part in the final battle against the 'Incarnation of talent' along with the Astraea familia, a battle that was all too hard for the young adventurer.

15 years ago, following the defeat of the two greatest familias: the Zeus and Hera familia, to the One-eyed Black Dragon, they were reduced to less than a tenth of their original glory and were banished from Orario a year later by the Loki and Freya familia seeking to gain power. A group of allied gods named Evilus took advantage of the vulnerable state the city was left in to threaten the peace the once greatest familia's upheld, this brought about a time which would be referred to as the 'Dark age' of Orario. Needless to say, many adventurers, civilians, and gods were killed during this period.

2 years ago, Evilus launched an attack on the labyrinth city which spanned for a single week and would be later referred to as the 'seven dark days'. Eventually ending when the Astraea Familia and himself (reluctantly) defeated the 'Silence' Alfia in the middle levels of the dungeon, and Ottarl the 'King', defeating the 'Predator', Zard. The two level 7 seven adventurer's of the two once-greatest familias decided to sacrifice themselves and bring about a new age to Orario, to bring out new heroes that would protect the city in the place the Zeus and Hera familia's once did, though this would be known to none other than a certain Goddess of Justice, her familia, and a white haired rabbit.

The Hestia familia though not being around for long, had risen through the ranks and became a well respected with many aspiring adventurers wanting to join the growing familia. A month ago, the guild received information of Evilus movement in the dungeon and the Hestia Familia were tasked to investigate but were instead lured into a trap that killed all of it's members, all but Bell Cranel. His family were maimed at the claws of the beast, their bodies reduced to ash at their own magic. He was sad, angry, miserable, furious, overcame with grief and rage at Evilus for what they had done to his familia: his family. If having to kill his only other blood relative was not enough, this was the final straw that truly pushed him over the edge, discarding his dreams and deciding to get revenge on the group responsible for the murder of his family.

Being a first class adventurer though, did not help his crusade in the slightest. Many across the labyrinth city would hear about the tragedy that struck the Hestia familia, and the disappearance of their captain. Hestia never gave up hope and kept searching for him, still feeling her blessing engraved onto her son's back. Over the course of the month, many sighted the white rabbit killing supposed members of Evilus. Any and all groups who even had the slightest connection to the group were massacred. Bell Cranel, the 'Astrapi', a fresh first class adventurer, was loose in the city on a murder spree. Despite his 'noble' intentions, the guild had no choice but to issue an enormous bounty of 180,000,000 valis on the young boy's head which many greedy adventurers saw as a chance to strike it rich.

All of this would eventually come to a close tomorrow and he would snuff out the flame Evilus laid upon the city, once and for all. He was lonely, solitary and tired, oh so tired of how long this farce had gone on for and simply wished it could be over with, falling into slumber dreaming about his family.

.

"CAPTAIN!" An arm flew.

"AAAGH!" A body split in two.

"I DONT WANNA DIE-" A spine broken.

.

It was a dream. One that he relived night after night. One so vivid he believed it happened once more. He was forced to watch on as his family died one by one, blood raining down all around him, limbs torn asunder and devoured, bodies left a shadow of what they once were, and Bell could do nothing but cry.

.

"WATCH OUT-" The clattering of weapons.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?" The rain of blood.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHH" The cry of a rabbit.

.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHH"

His watery eyes shot open as he was greeted by the nostalgic stone roof in the basement of the church. It was a sight that he could never forget no matter the years.

That dream again...

Drenched in a cold sweat, Bell wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his black shirt and stood himself up from the couch. Tiredly, he dragged himself to the kitchen and made a couple sandwiches filled with eggs, leftover ham and an assortment of vegetables as his breakfast; placing them on a plate. It was as simple as sandwiches came and ever could, unless one would eat only the bread, which although some people did and would not judged for, Bell did not. He laid the square sandwiches down on the coffee table in front of him and sat down on the couch, rummaging through his bag for a moment, before pulling out a map with with an X marking an abandoned warehouse in the Northern district of Orario. Bell reviewed his plans for a few minutes while gobbling down the sandwiches and decided that it was time.

He put on his white light armor with red markings and unsheathed his sword named Vesta, holding it out in front of him. Said sword was a gift from Hestia to him when he became an adventurer, It was a one-of-a-kind weapon that grew as he did and was borderline indestructible. The longsword was as black as the night and was roughly 110 celches. The blade being about 60 celches and runes engraved onto the blade that glowed a light blue ever so slightly whenever he held it. The guard was was rather simple, though to call it a 'guard' might have been an overstatement as it was one more fitting for a knife. Maybe in another world he would have wielded a knife similar to this sword. Its grip was rectangular and could fit into his hands comfortably, the pommel of the blade, similarly to the 'guard' simply did not exist which when Bell initially questioned, came to accept it. Returning it to its scabbard, equipping it on his hip before taking a quick glance at the black robe dangling from the coat hangar.

Whenever Bell would hunt down Evilus, he usually wore the black cloak which was made of some monster drop items from the deep floors. But as this was what he believed to be the last time, he decided to leave it there. Turning to look back at his home, he wondered how different his life could have been but pushed those thoughts aside as he climbed the spiral stairway of the abandoned church. He pushed open the archaic wooden doors and was greeted by the warm midday sun of Orario, a stark contrast to the dark cloudy skies that were commonplace during the 'dark age'.

I overslept...well this is the last stronghold so I guess it doesn't matter.

He used his knowledge built up over the past 16 years of Daedalus street, finding himself skillfully jumping from building to building while making his way to the northern district of Orario.

.

Two young women walked side by side down the bustling street. The taller girl had red hair tied up in a ponytail with a pink flower-like ribbon. Curved silver armor covering her breasts and shoulders above a rose-pink sleeveless shirt that was white towards her sides, her black gloves receding at her forearms with a pair of bracers with gold borders at the ends. On her waist was a crimson-red cape that was draped over her left leg, slightly above her brown, ankle-high boots and a sword sheathed neatly above the 'cape'. She wore black shorts and black stockings, exposing a modest bit of her thighs. She called this the 'Zettai Ryouiki' or 'Absolute Territory', it was among the many odd phrases used by the gods such as 'tsundere' or 'milf' though no human truly understood what they meant. A bright smile was plastered over her face as her stride came to an abrupt halt, her emerald eyes staring at one of the many rooftops walling the bustling street.

The shorter girl turned and noticed her friend staring at one of the buildings. She had short pink hair and eyes with a seemingly bored expression on her face. A white scarf around her neck and a black tank-top with a loose sleeveless white shirt that exposed her stomach and shoulders, it had a triangular grey patch that came over the left side and red accents around the neck of the shirt coming in a Y shape. A brown belt over black shorts, similarly to the red haired girl next to her she wore a 'cape' if it could even be called that inbetween her shorts and belt. She wore black fingerless gloves and stockings over her right leg, with the one on her left covering only her knee and silver knee pads over both legs.

"What's wrong? Something up there?"

"Was that a rabbit?" The red-headed human continued to stare up at the roof, seemingly deep in thought.

"Haaah?? Just because this is the 'center of the world' doesn't mean there are going to be rabbits hopping across the buildings Alise!"

"No that couldn't be..." Alise's mind wandered to a certain white-haired adventurer whom went missing roughly a month prior.

"Come on, our patrol wont patrol itself!" Her friend continued walking down the road.

"Aaaaah! Lyra wait up!" Snapping out of her thoughts, she lightly jogged back up to the shorter girl and continued their daily patrols on the streets of Orario.

.

Dashing from rooftop to rooftop, he eventually landed in front of the old structure in the northern outskirts of Orario. The building was not as large as large familia bases such as the Freya or Loki familia, but was still quite considerably large in of itself. He drew Vesta from its contradicting pure-white scabbard and cast his lightning enchant magic over his body.

"Regulus."

Blue lightning danced around his body, covering him with an armor of electricity. A passive effect of his magic was that he could stun enemies momentarily when he was hit and he could also coat his sword with this effect at will. He kicked the iron gates open sending it off its rails, flying at an Evilus member with such force it killed them.

"ENEMY ATTACK!"

"ITS THE ASTRAPI!"

"Jupiter!"

An explosive stream of thunder roared out of his left palm, sending his armed assailants to the ground. Stunned by the effects of his magic, the cloaked individuals were killed mercilessly with precise swipes of his sword. Blood coated the surrounding wooden crates as he swung his blade, killing any and all who tried to stop him. No longer hearing any more footsteps approaching: his level 5 senses instead picked up a faint sound of shuffling and followed the sound. After a few minutes of wandering, Bell found himself in front of a large pair of wooden doors, he gently opened them and scanned the room for any signs of hostility to no avail. The room was dimly lit; its only source of light being a small circular window above that bore the sun's light over a piece of paper impaled onto the table.

Bell Cranel, we have your goddess. If you wish to save her, come to the abandoned church in the south-western area of Daedalus Street.

He bolted out of the room down the winding halls towards the gate before being jumped by several bloodied individuals, all with familiar bundles of flame-rock strapped to their chests. This drop item was highly volatile, and when ignited, could produce large-scale explosions. Normally a first-class adventurer could tank the explosions without much difficulty, but Bell hadn't serviced his armor in some time and the ludicrous amount of explosives was too much.

"Damn-"

Bell was flung out of the building at impossible speeds and thrown onto the street. His body was scarred and burned horribly, the armor he wore managed to take the brunt of the blow but it only softened the explosion ever so slightly. He reached for his pouch that should have been on his left thigh but felt only wet shards of glass, having been destroyed from the blast. Bell knew that every second he spent staggered, his mother could be in danger; toughing out the pain he dashed through the busy streets drawing the gaze of many, which included a certain Scarlet harnel.

"Ain't that the Astrapi?"

"I thought he was dead!"

"What hell happened to him?"

.

"Still worried about Bell Cranel?" Lyra looked to her captain

"Of course I am! His entire familia was massacred, he disappeared; and now there are rumours of a rabbit killing people!"

She locked her hands behind her head, looking at her captain and sighed. "He's stronger than he looks so I wouldn't-"

An explosion erupted a few blocks over interrupting Lyra. The two girls looked at each other and nodded, rushing to the scene as fast as their level 4 legs could take them. In a few minutes the two girls arrived only for the broken form of a rabbit to dash past them, his form shrinking as he ran. The redhead immediately ran after him leaving behind a stunned pallum.

"Alise wait-argh damn it!" Lyra ran to inform the guild and Ganesha familia of what had just transpired. Despite Bell Cranel's actions preventing the death of many civilians, the populace believed that Evilus was defeated after the 'great feud' so the situation was treated as manslaughter.

.

The Harnel chased after the rabbit, getting momentarily lost in the maze known as Daedalus Street. She came to a stop, eyes drawn to a golden pillar of light rising to the heavens above. Scaling the walls and dashing towards golden pillar hoping to see her friend safe.

Please be safe Bell...

.

His body was in pain, unimaginable pain, but his mind couldn't process it, running faster and faster leaving behind a burnt trail on the stone pavement, having unknowingly cast his magic. Nothing mattered more to him at the moment besides finding Hestia, his mother.

He found the church written in the note and rushed in. It was quiet, too quiet, but that didn't matter. Across from him was none other than his mother, tied to a chair with a gag over her mouth, shouting something at him with tears in her eyes. His mind was so relieved that he rushed to her, hastily removing the gag and cut her free; hugging his mother to the floor, tears flooding from the relief knowing his only remaining family was alive.

"I'm so *hic* sorry...because of me *hic* you nearly got killed..." His cries drowned out what his mother tried wording to him as he pulled back.

He was but only a second too late.

"BELL-"

"MOM-" Several explosions blew off omnidirectionally, as the structure was levelled to dust and rubble. Evilus seemed to love their bombing methods, having been so weakened from the 'Great Feud' and undermanned. His entire body felt weak, but it wasn't from the explosives-It was the warmth of the Hearth leaving his back, wailing at the gilded tower of light rising up towards the sky.

It was a goddess returning to the heavens.

It was his mother joining his family.

"ah...ahh...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH."

Despite what Bell may have been on the outside, he was always a boy on the inside; chasing after his dreams blindly.

The boy laid on his chest and sobbed openly stretching out his hand to the charred remains of a hearth. He never felt so feeble, so puny, so powerless. Not even when he faced off against the demon of talent that was his au-stepmother, nor when he faced off against the emissary of despair. It was a abyss so dark, a hole so deep, a weakness so great, greater than any he ever felt, even when his familia died to the claws of death. Bell felt his mind become clouded, his eyes ever more drenched and overflowing with tears, his body riddled in burns, it him strained to do anything. Oh how he wished for it all to be a dream, to wake up from this nightmare to the warmth of the hearth: the warmth of family.

All that his hand grasped was the white and blue hair tie he gave his mother. By some miracle or pure chance the ribbon survived the blast: it was all he had left of her on the mortal plain. His mind was in overdrive, so overwhelmed with grief he considered to end it all there. His lifeless rubellite eyes looked up and met emerald; belonging to a red-headed adventurer of justice. She spoke inaudible words, pulling out a red vial and drenching his body in it, feeling his wounds slowly heal before being picked up. What was left of his consciousness could only formulate a single word, a name: her name. Gazing into her jade-like eyes, before he drifted off to the world of dreams

"Alise?"

Authors notes:

You may or may not have picked up on it while rereading this and the not-so-subtle hints, but I will explore Alfia and Bell's relationship in a later chapter. Now, onto the not so fun part of explaining how messed up the timeline i made it ahahaahaha...

Timeline:

The present or part this story begins off of is when the Astraea familia, or in this case the Hestia familia is massacred by the juggernaut which was about 5 years before the canon story begun.

The great feud as per the canon timeline, took place 7 years before the main story begun and if you really can't do math; 2 years before this story begins.

At the present moment of the story, Bell is 16 and Alise is 18. During the Astraea record event (dark age) in this story Bell is 14 which is also the year he began adventuring.

In the canon timeline, the Zeus and Hera familia defeated by OEBD 15 years before the start of the main story with Bell being born one year after that.

In this story, the timeline stays the same in that aspect with the Z/H familia being defeated 15 years before the present of this story and Bell being born one year after. If you translate it to canon timeline, the Z/H familia were defeated 22 years before the canon story begins.

Side note :

If you still dont understand the timeline, send me a dm on discord - shinki#9982