The hallways were beyond magnificent.
They were drop dead astonishing.
Victor felt as if he had truly entered another world - one ancient and far removed from the world he resided in.
'It's like a demonic lair... haha... if demons truly existed, then without a doubt this is where one would reside.'
No longer were any traps sprung, which had been thoroughly tested by the man who had haphazardly ran through these halls in an attempt to find his own death.
'I suppose that once someone has solved the code, there is no longer any need for defenses. After all, those who could not solve it were taken care of swiftly.'
Crushed.
Whenever a wrong answer was inputted into the system, the walls would cave in on the entrance, crushing anyone who attempted to enter without reason.
'Of course... I'm sure the one to design this place never imagined that anyone would be willing to sacrifice as many as I did in order to find out the correct combination.'
While researching and cracking the code was almost certainly the only way to enter this forbidden ruin, Victor had done so in a way which was completely unprecedented.
Trial and error.
Even to the most vile person, such a thing would normally be unthinkable.
To a slaveowner who considered their slaves to be subhuman, these slaves had some at least some worth - and were limited in number.
Their deaths would not only be meaningless, but it would be a loss, if only in terms of potential profit.
Yet this man did not just consider his subjects to be subhuman.
Rather - he considered them to be so worthless that they could only be used as meatshields.
There were a total of seven buttons, each with a figure on them. The pattern which had been correct was as follows:
The first was a button that gave the appearance of a slime.
The second, that of a lizard.
The third, that of a bird.
The fourth, that of a fish.
The fifth, that of a rat.
The sixth, that of a demon.
And the seventh, that of a human.
'What that pattern could possibly have meant... I have no idea. Evolution? No, likely not. The fish should have been first then. If it were supposed to be a ranking of strength, then the demon would have been last. Well, regardless... none of that matters.'
5040.
This was the number of possible combinations to press all seven buttons in.
The Number of tries that it took before a correct answer was guessed?
2597.
'While this was certainly a setback... more subjects can be obtained at any time. The important thing is finding what was hidden behind such a device.'
The man who stepped into these hallways was one who was willing to throw away such a vast number of lives for the sake of his own goal.
As he made his way forth, he eventually came to the end of the hallway, to another door.
'I presume it should be safe, given that I've put in the correct code... yet even so...'
"You. Open the door while the rest of us wait back here."
"P-please Sir!! I... I have a family back at the laboratory!!! If I lose my life here-"
"Did I ask?"
The white haired man glared straight into the soul of the subject, who lost all heart as he realized the coldness with which the scientist viewed him.
"But now that you bring them up... perhaps you would prefer that they are the next ones to scout ahead for me?"
The man widened his eyes as he hung his head low, trembling upon coming to a realization.
He was not even a pawn in the eyes of this man.
For even a pawn had some worth, and was only to be thrown away when necessary.
Yet every single one of the people who were present here... were nothing more than tissues to be used and discarded.
"I... understand. Please... just allow me to be the only one."
"The only one? Haha... are you asking me to spare your family?"
The Doctor chuckled to himself as he faced off with the man, who lowered himself in prostration.
"I beg of you.... just allow that my family not have to go through whatever I may endure. I will do anything for them."
Getting down on his hands and knees, the man begged.
Yet with a laugh, the Doctor spit upon the man.
"Then get the hell up and do your job."
The man scrambled to his feet, nodding repeatedly as he stepped forth.
Hoping, praying, the man stood forward as he approached the door.
He gulped as he looked upon the massive structure, begging that his life would not be lost at this moment.
'Please... please...'
However as the man reached out to grab the handle, a clicking sound was heard.
'Ah... this is it.'
The rumbling of moving stones vibrated throughout the halls, and the man saw his life flash before his eyes.
'I suppose this really is my day to die.'
Closing his eyes, the man felt tears drip down his face as the memories of his loving wife and children played in his mind.
'Ah... this is how it should be... if there is anything I regret... it would be leaving you in the hands of that demon.'
However his beautiful moment was interrupted as he opened his eyes.
'Eh?'
The doors had opened.
On their own.
No trap had been sprung, nor had he been attacked.
He was still in this world.
'Eh? I...'
Feeling his body, the man confirmed that he was indeed still alive.
Looking around, he noticed that nothing in particular had happened.
Not a single person had triggered any trap, nor had anyone been injured in any way.
'This... can't be real.'
"Move forward, subject."
"Ah... of course."
Pushed forward by one of the guards, the man stepped into the lair which had been opened.
'What... could be hidden here?'
However in that next instant, the man felt as if his very heart would stop.
He entered a room so grand, so excessive, so majestic, that he felt as if he truly had entered an entirely new dimension.
'What... is this?'
Banners lined the cavern, and a red carpet led up to a throne which sat in the center of the room.
The lighting was dim, dark enough that only the silhouettes of two figures could be made out.
Standing before this throne on its side was a single woman - a warrior who brandished a sword in her hand.
And sitting on the throne, with one demonic horn on her left and half a halo on her right, was a gorgeous woman with silver hair.
One leg was crossed over another, and she wore a long gown that clung to her.
These two women were nothing more than darkened shadows, barely visible to the eyes of the people who entered.
Yet even so - the man knew the moment he laid eyes on them.
'Those things... are not human.'
----
"Stop."
As Victor and his group approached the two beings, a feminine voice called out with authority.
The crowd which entered the room immediately halted, perhaps instinctively knowing that something horrible would happen if they did not.
Then, a dim red light from a chandelier above illuminated the room.
Standing before Victor was a woman who appeared to be something straight out of a medieval textbook - a knight brandishing a sword on her hip.
She wore a lustrous suit of silver armor, yet she wore no helmet atop her head.
Instead, her straightened blue hair ran down to her shoulders.
'A knight?'
Victor looked at the woman with questioning eyes, thinning them in suspicion as he glanced over to the other figure.
However before his eyes could fall upon her, he felt his head become heavy as he fell to his knees.
"You inferior vermin do not seem to understand the position you are in."
The voice of the warrior pierced the mind of Victor as he was insulted, his body becoming heavy beyond belief as he was forced to face the floor below him.
"You are not even worthy to lay eyes upon her Eminence... much less to be given an audience."
"Enough, Mackayla."
Yet the voice which came after was something so vastly different that it shook the very core of the man known as Victor.
"You're scaring my... yes... I suppose it would be correct to call them guests."
It was not that the voice was grating.
It was not that it spoke like a monster, arrogant and haughty.
But rather - that it spoke with KINDNESS.
"How sad... you all must certainly be terrified, your bodies being controlled like that. After all... the first time I was overtaken by my other self, I was terrified enough to break down and cry. Ah... but don't be too harsh on my slave here. After all... she is only doing what she does out of her respect for me."
With gentleness, the voice seemed to soothe the hearts of all present as it uttered the next words.
"Feel free to look up at me, humans."
If one were to describe the voice of this woman, then perhaps the people present would have said she was the concept of love itself.
Enticed by the proposal, one by one each of the people looked up to see it.
Sitting in that chair was an angel.
A woman dressed in a pure white gown, lightly illuminated by the crimson glare of the chandelier above.
Two angelic wings sprouted from behind her, and a halo topped her head - the demonic horn which they had witnessed in the silhouette nowhere to be found.
And falling from her head was hair of pure silver.
Her skin was as white as snow, pure and undefiled in every manner, and she hid one hand behind her back as her smile beamed upon these people.
"Are you all not exhausted? After all... I am sure it was difficult to crack such a code. I came up with it myself, and it wasn't meant for others to decipher. It was meant to be something that only me and my subordinates would understand... Yet I suppose someone was able to figure it out. Therefore... I suppose I should give you a reward, shouldn't I?"
As the being looked Victor in the eyes, the scientist felt something inside of him as he was overtaken by her beauty.
'What... is this?'
The man wondered this as he looked into her eyes - both colored silver just as her hair.
'Who... is this woman?'
'Woman... no... an angel?'
'A being... beyond science?'
'This... this.... this... how can this be?'
The man's thoughts became volatile as he looked at the woman, overtaken by her smile.
'Is she the one who can grant my desire?'
'The one who holds power unimaginable?'
'The one who will grant humanity power beyond anything in this world?'
'Or is she merely a servant of whatever being can grant this?'
"You seem to have many doubts about what and who I am. Therefore... I will explain."
Holding up a finger, the woman closed her eyes as she spoke.
Like honey in a warm cup of tea, just hearing such words were enough to put everyone present at ease.
As if her voice itself was a sedative.
"I am... well, I suppose you could say I am the creator of this world."
"I once was a human... just like each and every one of you. However, one day... I died."
"I was transported to another world... and awoke with a newfound power."
"The power of Determinism."
The woman explained as she stood, beginning to pace as she motioned with her hands.
"I was granted the ability to determine reality within this universe."
"Yet there was a man who was also granted an ability."
"A vile and wicked man, who looked to obtain everything."
"A man who was so disturbing.... so filled with lust and greed... that he deceived the entire world."
Stopping in her tracks, the woman halted as she stood right in front of Victor.
Then, looking down on the man, she spoke.
"Do you know what lie he told them?"
Then, at that moment, the woman bent down on one knee.
Removing her hand from her left pocket, the woman placed it on Victor's shoulder, looking him into the eyes as he found himself breathless.
"He claimed to be a hero."
As she whispered these words, horror overcame the man.
Something swept across him, and he felt his very being shaken with torment.
For the hand on his shoulder was pitch black.
It was clawed, and gave off the wretched appearance of a demon.
'What... is this thing before me?'
At that moment, the woman transformed.
The whites of her eyes became pitch black, her pupils as red as blood.
Her skin bubbled, soon overtaken by a black tar which seemed to flow out from her left hand, covering her entire body.
Her wings rotted and became demonic, and her halo disappeared.
Replacing it were two horns, and her hair became a dark gray.
Fangs grew from her mouth, and the woman's white dress turned to a black gown.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
"So what do you do when the person you have to fight against is considered a hero?"
Yet as disturbing as the creature before him was, there was one thing that shook Victor more so than anything else.
"Well of course... you become the villain."
Her right hand... was still pure.
"And that is who I am."
With a demonic smile, the woman thinned her eyes with a sadistic pleasure as her voice pierced the hearts of all who were present.
"A villain."
Walking back to her throne, the woman crossed one leg over the other as she sat in a regal manner.
A demonic queen.
This was the only thought that the people who witnessed this woman could think.
She was gorgeous.
Her beauty was something which escaped them, and every motion she made was carried with an inhumane elegance.
"And it was at the moment I decided to go against the hero... that I split into two. And what was once I... then became WE."
Closing her eyes, the demon smiled as she breathed in as if reminiscing about the long forgotten past.
"It was quite difficult to be split into two... an angel and a demon... a side of pure good and a side of pure evil... always going against one another... always unsure which one was the real me... but eventually I realized that we are one. And that we share one single desire."
Suddenly, the tar seemed to draw back, starting from the pure right hand of the woman and growing backwards so as to make it so that she was perfectly split.
Her left side, that of a demon.
Her right side, that of an angel.
And both of them, smiling.
One with a kind and gentle smile, and the other with a chaotic grin that took pleasure in the suffering of those around her.
Then, speaking in unison, two voices exited the mouth as it spoke.
"Ah... but that is what we are - yet that is not why you are here. No?"
Putting one hand to her lips in a sensual manner, the woman smiled in a seductive way as she glared down upon the group like they were maggots.
It was in that instant that time stopped.
The world froze, and everything around the woman became immobile - with the exception of the woman herself.
She stepped down from her throne, and then stood before the people with a grin.
Then, with the snap of her fingers, she disappeared.
Victor could not even turn his head to look around, but in that instant he felt it.
'Time... has resumed.'
Death.
He felt the overwhelming sensation of death all around him.
Yet it was not he who had died.
'Eh?'
Looking around, the man realized it.
Bent forward as they had been kneeling, a crimson pool formed around the necks of each person.
'My... subjects...'
Veins grew in the eyes of Victor as irritation overcame him, and soon he realized it.
'Every single one of them.... no... not only them... the guards as well...'
They had all been slaughtered in that instant.
"Victor Lichtenburg"
Then whispering into his ear from behind, the two voices spoke, sending a chill down the spine of the man.
"You remind us of that demented hero who basked in the glory of the people that he used and deceived to no end. And it is exactly because of that... that we will allow you to live. For it is not me and myself who will bring you to the fate you have in store. No... instead the two of us will watch with enjoyment... as you bring whatever wretched evils upon this world that you please. For we are existences of chaos... and we intend to watch as this world devolves into the chaos that you bring about. Only then will it truly become... entertaining."
With a feminine chuckle, the two mocked the man.
"Therefore, entertain me."
Walking forward with the flutter of her gown, the woman returned to her throne.
"And I will look forward to your eventual demise."
She climbed the stairs, taking a seat as she rested her chin in her hand with a Queenly pose.
"Or will you try and prove me wrong... and write a new fate that can escape me?"
Thinning her eyes, the woman looked down on Victor as if he were nothing more than an insect.
"Haha... well, if you think that you can redetermine this world that I have created... then go ahead and try."
With the wave of her hand, the woman closed one eye as she looked up at the ceiling.
"But I wish for you to remember one thing, Doctor."
Holding out her hand, a glass formed in the hand of the woman.
Then, from the necks of each of the people, a stream of blood floated into the air, all gathering into one stream which filled up the glass.
"Everything you do in this world... is hopeless."
Swirling this blood red wine glass around, the woman looked carelessly into the distance as she muttered to herself.
"Even if you take this entire world into your hands... it can be destroyed in an instant."
Taking a sip, the woman gulped the glass down.
Wiping her bloody lips, the woman then threw the glass into the air, at which it froze.
It stopped midair, remaining there as gravity ceased to function.
And at that moment, the girl raised her hand.
"For with even the snap of my fingers..."
Snap.
"I can redetermine the very fabric of this universe."
As she said this, the glass fell to the ground, shattering into a hundred pieces.
Yet with the wave of her hand, those pieces too disappeared from in front of her.
"And to me... this world is nothing more than a dessert... a reward for myself to enjoy after finishing the main course."
Taking in a deep breath, the woman looked down on Victor.
"Ah. But I suppose you've come for power... haven't you?"
With a smirk, the woman looked to the warrior before her.
"Very well. If you can defeat my slave here... then I will give you the runes of Reawakening. And if you obtain such things... then you will obtain just a sliver of my power. Ah... but be very careful. For these runes will only work on those they are compatible with."
With the wave of her hand, the warrior stepped forward with a serious expression, being careful not to interrupt her master.
"Anyone else will be destroyed."
Unsheathing her sword, a fire was lit in the eyes of the knight, which soon turned to a wicked smile as bloodlust overtook her.
"Such is my power... the ability to REDETERMINE."
----
'I only have to.... kill that knight?'
A glimmer of hope is a dangerous thing.
'Just the knight... not the demon.'
For within every glimmer of hope... there is a sea of darkness.
'If it's just the knight...'
Feeling his pocket, Victor grinned victoriously as he realized that his pistol was still present on his person.
'Then I can win with ease.... and take those runes for my own experiments.'
Grabbing hold of the gun, the man stood up with a smile.
His golden eyes gleamed as he laid them upon the woman, who faced him with confidence.
'So many subjects dead... so many bodyguards dead... yet this is only a setback... and if I can obtain the powers that this woman holds... even if it is just a small fraction of it... then it will be an immense victory.'
'For humanity.'
'And for myself.'
"You... are you a normal human?"
As he stood before the warrior, Victor asked this question, surrounded by the bodies of the deceased.
The woman gripped the sword in her hand, preparing herself for battle as she took kindly to his question.
"Yes, that is correct. I am... nothing more than a human. However, before anything... I am a servant of her Eminence."
The woman spoke these words, pointing her sword at the man.
"And yourself? You may be a human as well... but first and foremost you are an INFERIOR existence."
"In what way am I inferior to you?"
Victor kept his eyes on the woman as he asked this with a smile, keeping himself from laughing.
'What a fool, this woman is. A barbarian who knows nothing of technology... haha... so long as the demon beside her does not interfere, the victory is mine. She will be dead before she even understands that the battle has begun.'
Keeping his hand on the firearm, Victor made sure to watch the woman carefully to ensure that she didn't make any sudden movements.
'As soon as she moves, I will shoot her.'
"That is simple. While we are both human, there is a fundamental difference between myself and you. To put it simply... I was once like you. A foolish human, living in a world completely unaware of the higher existences. I served other humans, following my heart and doing as I felt was just. Yet at some point I came to realize that there was a greater existence. And in pledging myself to her Eminence... I was transformed."
The woman's expression turned from gentle to wretched in an instant as she spoke.
"I went from an inferior existence to the tool of something far above myself. And for that reason... I gained worth. Worth which a rat like you could never possibly hope to obtain."
"You are far too arrogant, woman. However there is one thing that I will agree with you on."
Nodding in response as he removed the weapon from his pocket, the man pointed the firearm at the forehead of the woman.
She did not react, nor did the demon, who sat back leisurely watching the exchange without interfering.
"There IS a difference between you and me."
Click.
As the weapon was cocked, the man chuckled to himself victoriously as he pitied the woman.
"You look upon me as inferior to you because you serve something greater? How funny. Yet it is in serving something great that you are BEHIND."
Bang! Bang!
Two shots resounded through the halls, and the smell of gunpowder entered the nose of the man.
"Heh... eh?"
However the stench of blood, which was all around the man, did not become any more potent.
"What?"
For the woman was holding the sword to her face, and she had deflected the two bullets in an instant.
"Did you think that you could hide from me that you were about to attack? Ah... that is called a gun, is it not?"
The blue haired knight stepped forward, smiling as bloodlust overcame her expression.
"How... did you know such a thing?"
Victor stepped back, fearful as the woman approached him.
Dropping his weapon as his hand trembled, his mind went blank as Victor was overwhelmed with horror.
"Ah, that?"
Yet the woman standing before him did not allow such weakness.
With a chuckle, the woman closed her eyes as she tossed the sword aside, removing her armor piece by piece to reveal an outfit which looked like something a woman would wear to a party.
Her gauntlets revealed a white pair of gloves, and her armor was removed to reveal a red dress.
It was an outfit which was not fit for combat in the least.
Yet even so, Victor felt it.
'This woman... is messing with me.'
"If you want to know how I know about your modern weapons... then that much is simple."
In that instant, a pain erupted in the hand of Victor.
As if she had teleported behind him, his hand was grabbed and wrapped backwards around him, and his finger was cracked with ease as if it were as fragile as a piece of straw.
"AGH!!!"
The man fell to his knees in pain, screaming as he grabbed his mutilated hand, quickly attempting to realign the bones.
"Ngh!"
Yet as he did so, the woman whispered into his ear, sending a horrifying chill down his spine.
"I learned about such a thing from her Eminence. After all... such things were common in her original world."
At that moment, Victor felt a hand slam into the back of his head.
His vision became blurry, and the pain faded quickly.
His eyes became droopy as they closed, and exhaustion overcame him.
"Ah... but I suppose there is one last thing."
Yet right before he fell unconscious, the words of the demonic Queen echoed in his mind.
"The code which you cracked... well, I suppose I'll tell you what it means to me."
With a sinister grin, the garnet eyes of the demon seemed to glow in the limited vision of the man.
"The order of the symbols... is the same order that we took over the races of the world that we now rule."
Hope is a dangerous thing.
For the desires of man are always contradictory to one another.
If one gains, another loses.
"And as for this world... We have no intention of interfering. Only... setting up the stage and watching as things devolve into an undetermined chaos."
Within every glimmer of hope... there is a sea of darkness.
And with every hope that is fulfilled... a hundred dreams are shattered.
[End of Memory 1]