Chapter 1: How it all Began.

How long has he been in this section of the labyrinth? A lot, he was sure, yet his pockets were nowhere near full. This was his fifth attempt in the dungeon today, killing low level monsters for their items to earn money.

His name was Bell Crane, a country bumpking of fourteen, with a slim built and some muscle, hair was white as snow, eyes the color of rubies. After his grandpa passed away he came to the famous city of Orario, were the fabled tower of Babel stood above the dungeon. Adventurers from across the land travelled here to face its countless monsters.

Bell sighted, removing his small blooded knife from a goblin skull, he cleaned the pieces of brain matter attached to the metal.

Goblins were considered the weakest creature by other adventurers, some being outright ignored for not being worth their time. But Bell had no choice. He wasn't strong or performed complicated spells and his agility was nothing but average. Compared to others, he wasn't much to look at.

He was standing in the middle of a corridor stretching all the way forward, several intersections and turns could be seen. Bell already explored several others before.

'I'm so tired,' he sit on the floor, back against the wall. He checked his pockets, feeling the magic stones collected so far. 'Maybe I should go back, there's enough enough for two meals. I can even save some for later.'

Yes, maybe he should…

Bell…

The boy sprung up, knife in hand. Was there a monster nearby?

Bell… Bell…

It was coming from his left, a few feet ahead were the corridor made a 'V' turn. Bell approached cautiously. Using the wall as cover, he peaked.

Nothing.

Only darkness. A very thick one.

"What..There's nobody?" He said aloud. Did he imagine it? Maybe he'd spent too much time inside the dungeon.

The boy turned to leave, only to hear it again, but this time was different. It was like pull. A strong one that made him go to it. Bell didn't know why, but he needed to get closer.

Mustering his courage, he entered the darkness.

It wasn't a smart decision. Even if the first floor only had weak monsters, the chance of being overwhelmed was high. Bell had no armor, just a jacket, boots, and a knife. No metal armor to protect him or sword to attack. He could only dodge.

He continued to explore this section, the darkness was so thick he could barely see his hands. His steps were cautious, doing his best not to step on something, or…

Bell fell to the floor, hitting his head. The world seemed to spin even in this darkness. He got up quickly. He felt his cheek burn with pain. Did he cut it? Bell covered with his hand, no way to see the damage without light. It was clear; he needed to leave now.

Then he saw it. A glow. A strange blue glow just a few feet away from him.

His eyes widened, reflecting the glow from the stone. His senses dulled, his mind couldn't process the world anymore. It was like a trance.

Like a moth to the flame, Bell approached the glow.

What he found was a crystal, a very large one jagged with two sharp ends. Bell stared for a long time before bending down and grabbing it. It felt cold, even with his leather glove.

Could it be loot someone forgot? If so said person would most definitely come looking for it. A crystal this size was probably worth a ton of money, enough to…

…set up him and his goddess for months.

Could he do it? Taking something that wasn't his to gain money was not the most honest thing to do, but it was clear he'd never find the original owner. Besides, why would he give it away. He found it first, so it belonged to him and him alone.

"This is awesome, finally some luck. This is going to make so much money." He laughed, "I could finally get some armor, better weapons, even new furniture for me and my goddess. I'm going to get her a big bed, maybe some new clothes, and perfumes too. And food too, we're going to have so many feasts."

He could almost see it; a reformed church filled with their things. They'd have the hole on the roof closed, and create divisions for the many rooms. Other adventurers would see this and join them. His goddess familia would earn a great reputation, and he finally fulfill his promise to his late grandfather.

Bell was so entranced in his fantasy that he never saw a shadow sweep from the crystal into his skin, running along his veins like a spider web. It continued until it reached his neck.

He felt his body tremble, he began to sweat cold, his bile was up his throat. Then Bell fainted, the last thing he heard was a hateful voice that pierced his heart like a thousand needles.

"You're mine, Bell Crane."


Moments before.

In the darkness of the labyrinth, a demon raged.

If one could hear it would be like thunder inside the mind. A thousand words booming at once, filled with utmost hate and malice. The monsters that got nearby heard it. They all fled in sheer terror. One dropped dead out of pain.

"Curse that filthy woman, how dare she banish me like this. ME. One of the prime evils, the lord of hatred himself." The formless essence screamed in fury, gathering storms with each word.

Not long ago he made a deal with two humans of Sanctuary. His daughter, Lilith, in her foolish attempt to conquer the nephalem for her own purposes, would attempt to steal his power. They couldn't allow it to happened, so his essence was sealed in a soulstone. Knowing she'd come for the stone, the human woman escaped while her male companion remained to face his daughter.

Using his power, he began working his way to corrupt the mortal woman named Neyrelle. He would break her will completely, and finally be free of this prison.

But before he made any progress, she turned the tables on him with a ritual. A ritual few ever attempted, let alone succeeded, meant to banish one's soul to the void, doomed to spend an eternity in nothingness. He would never admit it, but fear gripped his heart, one he never thought possible.

And it was caused by a mortal.

He tried discouraging her, whispered words of doubt by reminding her of past failures. He mentioned her late mother, how her foolishness almost killed her.

But she remained stoic and determined. The ritual was complete and he was banished.

Yet in a twist of fate he didn't found himself lost in the void, but what appeared to be a stone corridor. His senses could fell the many paths and turns this place had. It was a dungeon. There were living creatures nearby, but they were neither human, angel, or demon. Their minds were… simple. Not even above the level of thinking, just guided by instincts.

They approached him in strange wonder, yet when he attempted to communicate they all fled in droves.

"Pathetic." The prime evil spat, he needed someone else, preferably with more intellect than these pathetic creatures. It seemed no one came here.

That was the reason he raged against that woman. But before he continued wallowing in hatred, he heard it.

"Yeah, I did it, another monster killed."

The voice came from the adjacent corridor. Mephisto used all his power 'see' who was it. A young boy. He had white hair and red eyes. He wore a strange yellow jacket over his shirt. Several of the creatures he'd seen before lay at the boys feet, now strangely disappearing from the world, the last one had a knife to the skull.

Peering deeper in the boys thoughts, he caught a name.

'Bell Crane.' Mephisto smirked.

He was nothing special, clearly a weakling. Disposable trash. But currently his only chance of escape.

He could use him. The young were always more susceptible to manipulation, and he was a master of it.

Willing his voice, Mephisto called for the boy. He needed to be subtle, make him see there was no danger here. The boy approached more and more.

Then he tripped, cutting his cheek with the knife. What an idiot.

Getting up the boy found his prison, picking it up in sheer wonder. Good, he didn't know what a soulstone is, making all this much easier. Bell Crane's mind was unprepared, untrained, and Mephisto would use that.

As he began to corrupt the boy, images of his life outside this place travelled to his mind. A great city named Orario. A tower above this dungeon. Brave heroes who braved the lower levels.

And gods.

Mephisto briefly cursed. So the woman spells sent him to a different reality were these 'gods' lived among mortals. It didn't matter, he would have them dancing at his whims in the end. Oratio would be his, and this boy would be the one to do it.

Latching to the boys soul, Mephisto whispered to him.

"You're mine now, Bell Crane."

Bell awoke with a kick.

"Rise and shine kid," someone laughed. "Not the best place to take a nap."

Bell looked around, rubbing his eyes. He was sitting in the floor, surrounded three other adventurers, much larger and stronger than him. The tallest one, a middle aged man with a beard, spoke.

"I know the first levels are a breeze, but sleeping on them? You're either very strong or a complete idiot, and I'm going with the former." He said with clear malice, making Bell stare down in shame.

Another one, a teenager with wolf features, sneered at him. "How did they even let you in here," He looked around, "And where's your familia?"

"They probably left him behind." The middle aged man laughed, "Who'd want a useless kid that sleeps in the dungeon."

They all laughed.

"Pretty sure he doesn't have one. And if he does, than it must a useless god." A woman with wizard robes said.

Bell got up, facing the middle aged men, clearly the leader.

"Don't talk about my goddess like that." He roared in anger.

Bell stopped. Why did he scream like this? He'd never done anything like this before in his life. He was shy boy who could barely talk to girls. Looking to the people surrounding him, one thing was clear.

They were NOT happy.

Bell felt the man's fist connect with his stomach, probably cracking some ribs. He staggered to the wall, raising his arms to defend himself, only to be kicked by the werewolf. His body hit the stone floor, sending a wave of pain across his body. Fighting the pain, he got on his knees. The group laughed and cursed the boy.

"How'd you like that you little shit." The sorceress kicked him again, her pointy heel felt like a knife stab, "This is what happens when trash like you play the hero."

"Alright, that's enough," the leader grabbed her shoulder. "Check his pockets. Our lessons aren't free you know." She smirked, reaching for Bells pockets, only for him to grab her arm.

Her face twisted in fury, "You have a death wish…" Bell's head rose, eyes glowing a sickly blue, catching the three unaware.

The three found themselves surrounded by clouds, as if floating all the way up to the skies, a noon sky filled with dark clouds.

"W-where are we?" The werewolf asked in panic, "What happened?"

The sorceress looked around, clearly nervous. "I… don't know?"

The leader, being the oldest of the group, tried making sense of it. One minute they were at the dungeon the other they were way up in the sky. How? What happened in those small seconds?

Then he remembered the boy's eyes. They glowed. Perhaps he could cast some sort of illusion and they got caught by surprise. What a devious little shit. Oh, when they got out of here he would personally break that kid arms and legs.

"As entertaining it would be to watch, I'm afraid I can't allow you to do that."

The voice was horrible, invading his brain like a serpent. He felt it prodding his thoughts and emotions. Bringing everything he knew and did to light. There were no secret he could ever hope to hide. A sense of dread gripped his heart, it pounded so fast it almost broke out of his chest. Cold sweat started dripping from all over his body. His body became rigid like a statue yet he could feel his limbs become limp. Looking at his companions, they fared no better. The werewolf's teen was shaking uncontrollably, his ears lowered, his fur spiked up.

As for sorceress, she was… Pale? Her eyes were with a dull color, but her expression was of pure fright. Her mouth was agape in a way it shouldn't be possible, her arms and legs weren't twisted in odd angles, but they were rigid like stone.

"She's… dead?" He whispered.

The werewolf heard it, despite his numbness. "W-W-WHAT?"

Yes, she was dead. Death by shock. What could've done this?

The two noticed something; her eyes were staring pass them. The followed her gaze and…

They saw it.


Bell Crane awoke in a haze, he didn't even remember walking to the exit. His head felt heavy, and his cheek was bleeding, not to mention the black eye and bruises. Was he attacked by something? He must've been, his pockets were heavy with magical stones. What a lucky day.

'Wait, am I forgetting something? Hmm, no, probably not important.' He thought with a satisfied smile.

So the boy continued, unaware of what happened. Or the three corpses he left behind.

I decided to create a longer version with more details. The next chapter is when the story actually begins. Please leave a comment. Criticism is welcomed.