All Lilith could feel is fear. Her heart was beating so fast, she was certain it would be heard by the man hunting her. Once she was in the clear, she ran as fast as she could without looking back.

Lilith began running through the burned forest she had found herself in. The smell of burning bodies and constant screaming made her tear up, but the adrenaline coursing through her veins kept her going.

A loud explosion became audible, causing her to look. The man was hot on her heels, and after a moment the man had caught up to Lilith and pinned her to the floor.

“What do you want?” Lilith was struggling to get her words out, with the man’s hand around her neck.

“Your death.” The man raised his arm and proceeded to pierce Lilith’s heart.

Lilith woke up with a jolt and instinctively placed her hand on her heart. Lilith let out a sigh of relief and rubbed the sweat off her head. She looked around and noticed she was in an unfamiliar room. She got up instantly, not remembering how she got there.

A knock at the door became audible. “Lilith are you awake?”

It was Alastor. “Yeah. I’ll be out right now.”

She tried remembering how she got there, but her mind drew a blank; instead she brushed it off and opened the door for Alastor.

Alastor let out a smile. “Hey, you. You’re finally awake.”

“Where are we?”

“The realm of the dead.”

Those words instantly jogged Lilith’s memory. “We’re here to train!” Lilith said excitedly

“Exactly,” Alastor grabbed Lilith’s hand and started walking her down the east wing. Lilith noticed all the oil paintings depicting dragons either destroying the world or creating it as they walked out into the training arena.

Lilith stood in awe as she saw the beauty in the realm. The green grass and tree branches started dancing as a slight breeze passed by, the light green air smelled fresh, and the beautiful mural in the training arena captivated her the most.

She had never expected the realm of the dead to be so lively.

The two walked down the stairs and made their way to the arena where everyone was waiting. “You’re finally up!” exclaimed Lillia.

“How long was I asleep?” asked Lilith

“Three days.”

“Three days?!” everyone shouted.

Benjamin and Leon woke up not that long before Lilith, so this was a surprise to them as well. Sensing their unease, Lillia explained the realms effects to first timers, and that there is no need to worry.

“With that out of the way,” said Abel, “You all are here to train under Alastor, and I. You all know by now the threats we are going to face soon, so we must prepare as much as we can. Alastor is going to train you in magical control, while I’ll train you in strength.”

“You’re finally going to teach me strength?” Lillia said, happily.

“Yes. Now some of you may know that I am the king of this realm. That authority gives me complete control of it’s flow in time, and complete control of the space inside it, that is going to give us the complete edge in training over the king of Hell.”

“Wait, you’re the king of the dead?” the group exclaimed

“I’m surprised Lillia didn’t tell you.”

“I didn’t know! I thought you were just high level figure in this realm, not the king of it.”

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Oh. Well, anyway, the training is going to be hard, but that’s how it’s going to have to be if we’re going to survive what’s coming. For now Alastor and I are going to give a demonstration, and then we’ll give you your own training.”

Before anyone could say anything the two walked to the center of the arena and drew their respective weapons.

“Ready?” Abel smirked.

“I haven’t gone all out in a while, so this is going to be interesting.”

The two suddenly disappeared, then reappeared exchanging attacks. The two blocked each others attacks not landing a single blow.

The group was trying their hardest to not get sent flying from the sheer force of their attacks.

Alastor jumped up and threw a giant fireball towards Abel. Abel easily sliced through and appeared behind Alastor, swinging his scythe at him.

Alastor’s body itself turned into flames, allowing the attack to pass through. Alastor reappeared and swung his sword with full force. Abel dodged, causing the attack to hit the ground, and create a giant ravine in it’s wake.

The whole group was panicking at the sheer power of the two.

“They fear the king of Hell?” Stammered Leon.

“We wouldn’t even last a second against them,” stated Lillia.

The two men withdrew their weapons and started going with fists. Alastor had the upper hand when it came to close quarters combat so his technique was more effective than Abel’s. Shock waves were sent out with each punch, destroying the landscape underneath.

“I thought you were going all out?” taunted Abel.

“Don’t forget we have spectators.”

The two wound up their final punch, and collided fists. The force was powerful enough to leave a giant crater underneath.

The fight ended and, Abel and Alastor flew down next to the ravine where the group gathered.

“You really outdid your self Alastor, 40,000 meters in depth.”

Alastor shrugged. “Something light.”

Abel snapped his fingers and all the damage was reverted; not only that but the group fell to their knees. “Your training starts now. This worlds gravity is now five times what you’re used to, do note that once you get used to it, the gravity will increase. It will increase exponentially, so be careful.”

The group tried their hardest to get up and eventually they did.

“Now, Benjamin and Lillia will come with me, and Lilith, and Leon will go with Alastor.

The group separated and went on their own training.

Alastor took his students further out from the arena, leading to a hill. He sat on the ground with his legs crossed and the two students followed suit.

“Now, the goal is to properly control your magic no matter the situation. Whether you are angry, sad, or any other emotion.” Alastor summoned a fire right in front of him. “Visualize your magic into a flame.”

The two students did as they were told. Their flames were flickering and wild unlike Alastor’s which burned uniformly and stayed constant.

“Take a deep breath.” Alastor stated.

The flames erupted violently causing the two students to jump back.

“That is the importance of control. If you’re not in control all the time, anything will set off your magic.”

The two students sat back down and tried once more.

At the arena Abel had a different approach, he gave Lillia, and Benjamin heavy weapons.

“You will be training with these. They will get heavier the stronger you get. So be careful.”

After enough time getting used to their new weapons, and the weight of them, they started sparring. Their movements were slow but they never gave up on their form or technique.

Hours had passed and after a long day of training, the group gathered at the center once more. The gravity returned to normal and all the students felt relieved.

“Finally,” the students exclaimed.

“Lillia, Benjamin, come here.” Abel said.

The two stood up and went over to Abel. “Try fighting with your regular weapons now.”

The two did as they were told and immediately noticed the difference in their power from before. They were faster and stronger.

“Wow,” Benjamin exclaimed while looking at his weapons.

“See how much strength you can achieve. The possibilities are limitless as long as you put your mind to it. Don’t forget your resolve, this is still just the first day. Next week we’ll change it up to see how you can adapt to changes.”

Alastor chimed in, “Once we’re done with training, you’ll be fighting us.”

Everyone in the group went silent, but secretly, they were excited to have the privilege to fight them in a challenge.

“For now make your way into the dining room. A good rest is just as importing as training.” said Abel

“What’s on the menu tonight?” asked Lillia.

“I don’t know, you’re gonna have to ask Jerry,” replied Abel.

“Jerry?” Lilith asked

Lillia was the one who replied, “Abel has souls in the castle that work for him, and help him maintain it. Jerry is the cook.”

“You guys go on ahead, Alastor and I have a meeting to go to. We’ll be back soon. Lillia tell Luna to set the table and organize the guest rooms.”

“Okay,” Lillia replied.

The group turned around and Lillia showed them the way to the dining room.

“You ready?” asked Abel

“Always.”

The space around the two began to warp, and before long they were in a library. The smell of old books and fresh paper filled the noses of the two. Looking around, the library was just as they remembered it, countless rows of book shelves that spanned in every direction and in the middle of it all was a giant tree.

A loud boom suddenly erupted, and a split second later a giant grey dragon appeared on top of a bookshelf.

“We’re here to have that meeting Mother.” said Abel