Upon entering the locked room, everyone aside from Samael felt a presence unlike anything they've ever encountered.

Mendez has seen many things in his life; although he was fairly young in comparison to the other high-table leaders, he had faced death dozens of times, especially in his line of work.

Yet, never once had he felt something as such. He felt threatened, very threatened, but even as he felt his body turn cold and his instincts scream for him to run, he could not.

It was as if his basic survival instincts had been overridden by this primal fear he had never discovered before. Something that toppled the fear of death.

Olaf simply froze on his steps, unable to look up in absolute fear of what may greet him.

The moment the doors of the room flew open, he felt his entire being watched. As if multiple gazes locked unto his very soul, watching him carefully and with a silent warning.

It did not offer death, but true death.

He knew if he looked up, he would die. He would cease to exist, and there will be no return.

Ajax too simply did as Olaf. He had felt this presence before, especially when Samael lost his grip and let his emotions overtake.

It was there, always.

Yet he had never felt it this close, only a breath's width away. As if it can take him any moment now.

But for Samael, it was different.

He felt... at home. He felt as if he were back in the Void, the one place he truly feels safe in. It was... odd.

For a moment, the entire room was pitch black; no amount of light tore through its thick veil of darkness, but upon noticing Samael's arrival, it calmed down.

The onyx darkness retreated, leaving what appears to be a massive temple under the ground.

Looking around, the walls seemed to be made from cobblestones that have been furnished and smoothed out, but the stress of time had noticeably taken a toll upon them.

Cracks marred the surface of the place, with some vines growing at the edges. Dust gathered in the room with each step stirring it high in the air.

There were large pillars holding the place up with a path leading straight ahead towards an altar where a single massive stone tablet stood, roughly one and a half the size of an adult male.

Noticing the behaviour of the other three, Samael spoke.

"You may move now."

And they could move.

The three breathed a sigh of relief as the heavy burdens on their shoulders vanished without a trace, suddenly lifting upon Samael's words, as if a monarch had addressed them.

Looking around, they too only found confusion stemming in their hearts upon witnessing the temple-like area. To think that something of this size was hidden under the earth. Perhaps this was part of the reason for Samael's household's downfall?

Without fear, Samael moved forward with confidence in each stride, his hand gliding across the dusty pillars as he imagined how his father did.

Making his way up the stairs of the altar, Samael could almost see how his father did his work here.

As he approached the centre of it all, Samael found himself in the centre of a massive stone circle where a massive line was etched in the centre.

Just ahead of it were three massive monoliths with all forms of engravings and inscriptions.

"Scan it for me, Codex," Samael said.

Affirmative.

As the Codex began to scan the monoliths, Samael kneeled down as he ran his fingers through the dusty linings on the floor.

Scan complete. Revealing findings.

For a second, time felt as if it had stopped as the very dust particles in Samael's eyes halted.

As he drew closer to touch it, the line on the floor moved, catching his attention as it opened wide, revealing a massive white eye.

Samael felt his connection with his body snap as his consciousness was dragged in by the vortexes in the gaze.

Olaf and the rest braced as the entire place trembled, dust falling off the corners of the cavern as Samael's body began to hover above the ground, black matter slowly swirling around him.

But Samael's perspective had been dragged away as multiple flashes of memories that were not his invaded his mind.

Memories of his... father.

"How fascinating!" Samael's father exclaimed as he stood before the monolith, a clip present in his hands.

Then it shifted once more as dozens more pieces of information flooded him.

This time, it was someone else.

His grandfather.

"Remember closely, the Void is the Sovereign, and the Blanks are its last remaining heralds. What we have here are merely parts of his teachings, and one day I wish to decipher them," the man said to Samael's father, who at the time was nothing but a little boy.

"I understand, father; I will do my best," the kid answered.

"I know you will; I know you will..."

Then it shifted once more. This time, Samuel's parents were talking.

"Nemphis, you know they are coming!" The man said.

"And I don't care! I won't leave you! I won't leave my family behind!" Nemphis roared in return, tears glistening in her cheeks. "You know I can't..."

"I know! But I cannot risk you!" The man retaliated.

"Then how about you, Ishmael? Will you face them? On your own?!" Nemphis roared.

"If I must, if that is what it takes," Ishmael said as a lone tear trailed down his cheek.

Then it all shifted again.

"Please! Please..." Ishmael begged as he marched inside the very room Samael found himself in.

"Please! I don't care if it's only my son; please at least save him...!" Ishmael begged as he cried out to the monoliths. "Even if only him..."

For a moment there was nothing but silence until Ishmael saw the darkness shift and the monoliths release a faint light.

"Thank you," Ishmael said as he rose to his feet, determination present in his eyes.

Yet, before he left, he spoke, not to himself or the monolith but to Samael.

"Samael," Ishmael said.

Samael's eyes widened.

"If you are listening to this, then that means you survived and you are home," Ishmael said.

"I do not have much time. But remember this," Isaac muttered.

"Novus."

***

Samael's eyes opened, and the first thing he saw were Ajax and the rest watching him.

Sitting up, Mendez asked. "What happened there? You suddenly collapsed."

Recounting the events earlier, a wave of memories smashed against Samael as he remembered all that occurred. And without him knowing, he said the one thing his father left.

"Novus."

"Novus?" Olaf asked in confusion.

"What's that? Some person?" Mendez asked.

"I don't know," Samael said.

"Don't push yourself too hard," Olaf said.

Samael nodded as he looked at the monoliths, only for his eyes to widen. "What happened to the engravings?!"

"That's the thing; when you went unconscious, the markings vanished as well," Mendez said. "It's like they never existed in the first place."

Samael nodded as he shot another look at the monoliths. Their surface was as clean as it could get. Like the stone was built that way.

Perhaps they never truly did exist.

But Samael was sure they were remnants of the Void. Perhaps they simply vanished, for they had already found home in him.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Yes, perhaps that is indeed the case.

Samuel rose up as he dusted himself.

"What is your plan now?" Olaf asked.

"To understand and to honour," Samael said after a short pause.

First, he would like to bury his parents. It was something he did not have the chance before, but it is different now.

Second, he would like to understand what Novus is or if Novus is a person. What or who is he to all of this?

"Very well, we'll follow your lead," Olaf said as Ajax and Mendez nodded in silence.

Making his way out, Samael took his father and mother's rings as he made his way towards a very special place.

After some hiking, he eventually found himself on a cliffside beyond a small forest where one has the ability to witness the sun set over the horizon.

Without wasting time, Samael began to bury the rings and whatever remains of his family he could gather.

In solemn silence, Samael began to etch words upon the tombstones he built from a nearby boulder before embedding them in the earth.

Kneeling over them, he read the words he wrote for the final time.

"Here lies Ishmael Blank, a brave father and a beloved husband."

"Here lies Nemphis Blank, a loving mother and a compassionate mother."

Touching the tombstones for the last time, Samael closed his eyes as he felt the wind blow, the warm wind brushing against his hair.

It was done.

Rising to his feet, Samael watched the sun begin to set on the horizon as the skies were stained golden.

It was as beautiful as the day he first saw it.

And it must remain that way.

"Now I'm thinking we go back?" Olaf asked.

"Yes, I'm thinking it's time to go back," Samael said.

The way back to the sanctuary was silent. There was a melancholic atmosphere inside the waggon they rode, and everyone simply went along with it.

They too had lost their parents. But Mendez's parents were never the best role models. Olaf, on the other hand, did not know his, for he was a Mellagun. Ajax did, but he lost his when he was of enough age to survive on his own.

Samuel lost everything as a child. Robbed off from an early age and left in the dust to fend for himself. It is a miracle he even made it this far. Much less become the man that he is.

One could only imagine what he endured.

As the carriage began to close in on the sanctuary walls, Samael spoke, breaking the silence within the waggon.

"I am ready, Mendez," Samael said.

Mendez and the rest looked at him in surprise. "Are you sure?" The assassin asked.

"I am," Samael said with determination burning in his eyes.

"Then we'll do as you wish," Mendez said.

"Will you please empty the forge for me, Olaf?" Samael asked the grandmaster.

Seeing the shine in the boys eyes, Olaf felt a shiver run down his bones.

It seems a new grandmaster will be born soon.

"Very well," Olaf said.

As they arrived inside, Mendez bought everyone towards a new training ground he commissioned to be built especially for Samael. After witnessing his rampage, he would be lying if he did not feel fear of what the boy can do.

Standing in the centre of the room, Olaf watched everything as Mendez began to link heavy chains to Samael's body. Chains enough to bind even large abominations.

Standing there, Samael took a deep breath as his consciousness began to drift.

Like before, he felt as though he was submerged in cold water, falling deeper and deeper into the depths of this ocean before being thrown in the sky.

Opening his eyes, he was back. Back in that same place where his life began to crumble apart.

Yet, this time, he could move. There were no more chains binding him.

As he moved through the burning landscape and debris, Samael saw his father fighting the men that killed Samael's family.

Yet Samael simply watched. Without fear or rage, he simply watched.

As the blades impaled him and the men pushed past him, Samael simply stared at the back of his father before he closed his eyes.

As the world began to tilt, Samael found himself standing behind a woman and a child.

Yes, it was this specific scene that plagued him in his dreams.

The words they spoke and the promises they made remained the same. Yet Samael, no matter the pain, simply watched it all unfold.

Because he understood that it was all gone now. It had all passed him. It has been years, and he knew it was time to accept it for what it is and what it will always be.

Like thunder, the entire scenery halted as the world began to crack, slowly but surely splintering to pieces like shattered glass before raining down.

With a lone tear trailing down his cheek, Samuel allowed himself to finally wake up.

Mendez and the rest braced as they brandished their weapons in response to the sudden burst of killing intent that swallowed the room.

Slowly, they watched Samael begin to move as the chains binding him snapped and faded like dust blown by the wind, engulfed by darkness as the very concept of it bended to Samael's body.

Yet he did not charge at them as he did before. This time, he simply sat down as Samael opened his eyes, revealing two pairs of crimson pupils in the centre of the darkness before them.

Like a tsunami, the wave of killing intent smashed against all of them as they felt their bodies stiffen.

Mendez laughed wryly. "Well, sh*t, he finally did it."

Samael had finally controlled his bloodlust.

To make it even more insane, Samael's bloodlust before was frightening, but now that he could control it, now that it felt sentient, it made it bone chilling.

It felt as though they were being watched down to their last bone. As if one wrong move was all it takes and their heads would come off flying.

This was something else.

***

When the next day rose, Samuel found himself sitting before the forge early in the morning.

He simply sat there, watching the cooled-down forge as he closed his eyes. Allowing himself to fully immerse and heed its calls.

For a moment, there was nothing.

Then there was humming.

It was beautiful. It was... soothing.

Remembering the events yesterday, Samael recalled every vivid detail. The fire, the memories bestowed by the monoliths, and his father's words.

"You'll always be my best creation."

Opening his eyes, Samael stared at the forge for a moment as he reached towards its switch. Flipping it open, the blast forge was turned to its maximum as Olaf felt the tremors, causing him to move towards his workshop.

Taking out his axe, Crimson Raven, Samael looked at the blade as he once more closed his eyes, feeling his weapon and his friend.

As he did, he could feel the blade humming and urging him, resonating with his very essence.

It was time.

He understands it now.

Opening his eyes, another vertical eye awoke in Samael's forehead with black sclera and white vortex-like pupils that extended to both ends and seemed to drag in all that dare to glance.

[All Seeing Eye] has activated!

At that moment, the world turned upside down for Samael's gaze.

He could see... all.

He could perceive colours that he did not know existed and yet see the world in black and white. He could see threads connected to the very reality he stands in—threads he knew not the power of.

He knew he could see more; perhaps look at the past, present, and future. He knew he could see more than that... He knows he can see the...

Truth.

But not today, not now. He was too weak to do so. His soul would crumble as his sanity eroded in flames under the titanic pressure of the burden and responsibility.

This was his current limit, and he was already pushing it too far with Enlightenment.

No time to waste.

Glancing at Crimson Raven, the blade trembled as though it knew what was coming.

Finally, it was time.

With the maximum heat of the forge, Samael pushed Crimson Raven in along with the Void stone he found before.

The Codex said that the Void stone is the crystallisation of pure Void matter, and submerging Crimson Raven would give it a chance of rebirth...

But why rely on a chance?

He would do more than that. With the help of enlightenment and the all-seeing eye, he'll imbue the blade and aid it in its rebirth.

As the Void stone began to melt, Samael knew it wasn't enough as he began to pour his own Void energy straight at the crystal along with his blade.

He did not fully understand what it was he was doing, but he knew it would help Crimson Raven.

Using what he learnt and what he is currently seeing and understanding, Samael began to skilfully heat the ore and the blade along with his own energy.

Dragging both out of the forge, the blade did not emit the usual bright red colour but instead a hint of crimson and purple, casting shadows upon the room that seemed to dance at their marvel.

Putting Crimson Raven down the anvil, Samael focused on the stone as he stared at the crystal, sensing the pure unfiltered power within it as he spoke.

"Come home. Lost soul."

As if it understood his words, the crystal began to liquefy as violent Void matter began to erode at the forge. However, upon Samael's intervention, the chaotic energy was calmed as he channelled it.

Upon his will, the Void matter began to swirl in the air before flowing straight at Crimson Raven. Without hesitation, the blade began to absorb the liquid greedily.

"There will be plenty, calm," Samael said.

Each passing moment the energy entered the blade, the brighter the purple glow emanated from it.

When not even a single drop was left, Samuel took up a hammer when a voice spoke.

"I believe it's time to open the gift I gave you. Now is the perfect time," Olaf said behind the boy.

Samael looked at the man as Olaf felt his breath leave his lungs. Unaware of it, he averted his gaze back as he nearly kneeled to Samael.

"It is okay; stay upright," Samael said.

As if a miracle, Olaf could breathe again as he looked at Samael's back.

Taking out Olaf's gifts, he began to open it slowly as the box fell on the floor.

Tightening his grasp, it was a hammer. A hammer made with Radium ore, the hardest metal in this world, with Olaf being the only person to smelt it.

The hammer fitted his grip perfectly and was also the right weight. It had beautiful black and gold inscriptions on its surface with Samael's initials of S and B.

"It's my best masterpiece yet," Olaf said with a smirk. "Do it justice."

"I will," Samael said as he shifted his focus back at the axe. "Ready, buddy?"

"Let's do this."

Raising the axe above his head, Samael exhaled as he bought it down with reckoning force and absolute focus.

A thunderous bang ripped through the forge as the entire sanctuary felt a tremor run through its core, causing the nearby Mellaguns to begin and make their way to Olaf's forge.

Samael did not stop as he continued to smite away the impurities. However, that wasn't the only thing he was doing.

Olaf's eyes widened as he watched the beauty of Samael's smithing. Somehow, someway, the boy was destroying the impurities in a level unseen before.

In truth, Samuel was using his Void element to erase away even the smallest and finest blemishes. He wants Crimson Raven to be reborn. To be perfect.

Each hammer strike he did was an act of beauty that the Mellaguns couldn't stop watching.

Soon, more and more began to gather, crowding the place as Olaf kept them at bay.

Zargot, as usual, watched at the side as Samael's figure hammering away reflected off his silver pupils.

Putting Crimson Raven back in the skull crusher, Samael began to count.

"2nd Fold."

"3rd Fold."

"4th Fold..."

"...5th Fold."

Olaf's eyes began to even widen further as his smirk turned maniacal. "Damn it, boy, you're insane."

As Samael's hammer struck down the blade, he once more put it down the skull crusher.

"6th fold."

He had surpassed his limits.

But he wasn't done yet.

"7th Fold."

At this point, each strike Samael did sent massive tremors as the people inside the sanctuary began to panic at the thought of an attack.

"More!" Samuel roared.

"8th Fold."

"Shit! The forge might collapse; hold it down!" Olaf roared as he began to conjure his metal element to harden the place.

"MORE!" Samuel roared.

"9th Fold."

Olaf laughed out loud as his hands began to tremble at the sheer force of the impacts. It seems he might break first before Samael does.

However, he wasn't alone, as multiple other Mellaguns began to channel their elements as well, helping Olaf and sustaining him.

Each strike Samael did caused the entire place to crack, slowly but surely.

But he was nearly there.

Without stopping, Samael kept going as the anvil is nearly destroyed.

Putting the blade under the skull crusher, Samael spoke.

"10th Fold."

Olaf muttered. "He fucking did it. What no man or Mellagun could."

But Samael wasn't done yet.

Now came the most important part. The final seal of Crimson Ravens rebirth. The grand welcome.

Taking out his pen, Samael began to inscribe at the blade.

He knew he was unable to do it as of the moment... unless he pushes himself beyond.

"Just this once, allow me to see..."

"The truth."

Conjuring the all-seeing eye, Samael strained himself as he broke through the barriers keeping him in check.

Like a snap, Samael's entire vision changed as though he was thrown like a ball in the vast cosmos, where all manners of creatures he had never seen before exist.

Tall titans that could dwarf worlds sleeping in the vast expanse of space. Gods and deities are only told in legends and existence that even Taranius cannot compare to.

He did not know why he was seeing this. Or at least until he heard that.

Like a trumpet and a warning siren, a loud raven caw thundered in the vast emptiness of the space and cosmos as the titanic creatures shrivelled and ran in fear.

Meanwhile, Samael's body moved on its own as he began to inscribe in Crimson Raven's hilt.

Looking at the source of the sound, Samael's eyes widened as he saw a figure amongst the unbending darkness, standing above all.

Yes, he understands now.

As Samael finally finished inscribing in Crimson Raven's hilt, Olaf and the other Mellaguns couldn't take their eyes off the magnificence of his creation.

Snapping out of the trance, Samael looked at the axe where a single word was etched. A single word representing the blades purpose and ego. Perfectly encapsulating its cold and inevitability.

"End."

Raising the weapon high in the air as it began to shine its blinding purple glow around the forge, Samael spoke a grand welcome.

"Arise..."

"Void Raven."