The stench of rotting bodies and brimstone filled the air. The area was so hot it was hard to breathe in. It would have been hard for most things to survive but that wasn’t the case. Shura woke up slowly to realize, he wasn’t in kansas anymore. His head was pounding and he had the worst case of cotton mouth but that was the least of his worries. He sat up and rubbed his temples not realizing he was rubbing blood all over himself. He looked at his hands to see that something was a miss. The realization came shortly after that he wasn’t in his one bedroom apartment. He was somewhere more sinister. The sounds of wailing filled the air as the heat slapped him across the face. He was in nothing but his boxers with his heart racing. One of his greatest fears came to pass.

‘Did I die in my sleep? Is this hell? Where is Geno?’

His mind was flooded with more questions than answers. With no clear answer in site he truly was lost. This was the worst case scenario of him dying. He wasn’t surprised that he ended up here in inferno. He looked down to see he was standing in the river of blood, surrounded by hellish statues and large monuments composed of twisted horrors. Bodies were worn like clothing on some of the monuments. Screaming derived from immense pain filled Shura’s ears and began to fill him with despair. For once in his life, he truly was terrified.

Shura went to clench his fists to activate his spells. But nothing happened. The fear only deepened when he felt that he had no mana flow. There was no spells to cast. Tremors came shortly after, causing the crimson liquid to ripple with each step. Something big was coming, but it only got worse. The blood began to bubble around Shura, the bubbles smarted small at first. But with each passing second they only got more violent. His fight or flight reflex kicked in and all he could do was run. He tried to run for solid land but for some reason running towards land was actually worse. The closer he got to solid land the deeper the lake got. Not to mention the blood became like quick sand. Before Shura knew it he was waist deep in shit creek without a boat. He stopped once he realized that he was up to his chest in the blood. The bubbles continued all around him. He looked around clenching his fists. If he truly was in hell he was not about to become some demon’s fuck toy.

He could hide it but the facial expression that covered Shura’s face was terror. “Well come on then!” He yelled at the top of his lungs. He was trying to bury the fear under some false bravado that he had to dig deep for. With each passing moment Shura was becoming unraveled. The composed conqueror had become the small child once more. The child that could only cry while being taken away from his estate. The tremors stopped for a moment and the bubbles ceased. For a moment Shura was relieved, he let out a sigh of relief. Then the water exploded around him. Hands grabbed at him, his movement was completely hindered and he was able fight back. The hands were grasping at his face, opening his mouth. Blood came rushing in as he was slowly dragged down into the abyss.

Shura slapped and bit at hands grabbing at him. He could feel his legs being latched onto by something unspeakable. His animal instincts kicked in. Kicking, biting, punching anything to get away from the situation he was in. His mind was racing at what could be his final moments. His screaming became loud garbled heaps of mess as blood flooded his lungs. If anything he was sad, these final moments were pitiful, he imagined himself going out in a better way than this. Being dragged down into the depths of the abyss without a word. He was beginning to lose hope, the light at the top began to fade slowly. His limbs were becoming heavier and he was starting to give in.

A trail of bubbles left his mouth as hands of the damned dragged him down. He began to grow tired, his eyes felt heavy. With each passing second whispers began to creep into his head. At first it came off as mumbled nonsense “Is this all you have boy? Is this the extent of what you are capable of?”

Shura could not speak, his mind was becoming fuzzy and the words were hazy to him. His life began to flash before his eyes. Visions of days long gone, happier, simpler times when he was nothing but a lad. ‘I’m sorry Mom, and Dad. I can’t even save myself let alone save my honor.’ If he could cry underwater he would. This feeling of sadness for things left undone was too much for him. Deep down he was still a kid who just wanted to fill the warm embrace of his mother and father. If he could hear the soothing voice of his mother or the admiring gaze of his father. He could die happily. But due to the sins of vengeance and rage he knew this was where was destined to be.

The flame of Shura’s soul began to become dimmer with each passing second. Time felt as if it slowed down to a snail's pace.Shura had only been here for ten minutes but it felt like a lifetime of being under this river of blood. Then one voice came, subtle at first. ‘Shura.’ A female’s voice rang through his head. A soothing tone that he had not heard in some time. The sensation of hope began to fill his body. Then another voice calling out to him but this time it was male. ‘I know I trained you better boy.’ This feeling of hope grew stronger, he knew these voices. They were individuals he lost long ago to the hatred that followed the Ranzu name. ‘Mom? Dad?’

This sense of depression had begun to fade. Shura’s fighting spirit was slowly returning as he began to struggle more. Life was returning to him slowly. The ghouls noticed the change and only began to pull harder. Then the same voice before asked once more. “I will ask one more time, is this all you have?”

Shura did not respond only dig deep and grasp at what little energy he had left. Suddenly the water around him began to heat up. Something in him had changed.

Shura was attuned to the element of light, there was no way he should have been able to generate heat. It was a mystery to him but he didn’t question it. It was the only thing had at this moment to push back against these monsters trying to claim his soul. The water began to boil and the ghouls were forced to release. Sure it was already hot in hell but the heat Shura generated was different. It was filled with a sense of rebellion and determination. Doubt had began to flee from his body and all he could think about was living. His cup had began to overflow. A loud monstrous voice came from above but it was very clear through the water. The voice created by this unknown being became the direction Shura swimmed for.

“You seek power don’t you!?”

Shura swam with every ounce of energy left in his body. He placed his hands downwards as if he knew what to do in that very moment. His palms faced downward and flames blasted outward causing him to be propelled upward towards this voice. The ghouls were thrown off by the sudden release of energy. Shura blasted upward out of the river of blood into the air. Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Soon as he left the water he was thrown into the air. That was all the power he could muster. He saw it, the thing that called out to him that was in the river of blood. The water began to bubble and the ghouls swarmed in the water like piranha waiting for their next meal. They knew unless he could blast himself in a direction again he would just fall back down into the river.

The beast reached backward and threw it’s hand forward, launching a chain composed of magma at him. The chain wrapped around his body and suddenly Shura found himself being pulled at breakneck speeds through the air. The chain was spiked and composed of pure molten energy. Shura was in immense pain as he felt the chain. The chain wasn’t melting his body like it should have it was doing something different. Energy began to pour into his body altering it. He began to glow suddenly. The chain retracted and He was being held by the beast. Shura was still coughing trying to gasp for air. The beast squeezed him like a toy. The beast expected a squeak noise but he got blood vomit instead. The vomit hit the hand of the beast result in steam. It was composed of raw molten energy. From the looks of it, it was huge. Shura knew he wasn’t just out of trouble yet. He continued to struggle but the vomit kept coming with each squeeze. The chain was still keeping him restrained on top of being squeezed like a chew toy.

Shura’s stomach emptied out and he was still trying to compose himself. He was in the worst shape he had ever been in a long time.

The demon before him was a lord of the Abyss, but this was unknown to Shura. Demon’s were aware of the human world and frequently tried to cross over into the world of the living. There was something that kept them from doing so. That will be revealed later on. Shura took a few moments and the beast just eye balled him not saying much. Shura couldn’t tell what it looked like completely because he was being held up to it’s chest. He was finally able to catch his breath and mutter some words.

“Who...or what are you?” Tired he couldn’t yell but he was sure his voice was heard. Because the beast smiled and spoke. “I am your salvation.”

Shura looked confused at first and before he could speak again. The beast opened it’s hand and released the shackles. Shura fell on his bottom in the palm of the beast. He was trying to stand up but couldn’t. His legs did not seem to respond at first. “My salvation?”

“I have watched you for some time boy. I know of your blood and your potential.” The beast was actually surprisingly well spoken. “I know of your struggles and tribulations I have brought you here too offer you a deal. We don’t have much time here and many answers plague your mind no doubt. The spell used to bring you here is running out.”

The demon used it’s free right hand show the tip of it’s finger to Shura. “The change has already begun and you know something is different. Do you not crave power? The ability to carry out your dreams and crush anyone who stand in your way?”

Shura had the flashback of Geno making him look and feel like nothing. This was his chance, the moment he had been waiting for. A chance to become something greater than himself. The question was he willing to make a deal with a demon. He already had his answer, with minor hesitation. “Yes.”

“Stand too your feet.” Shura struggled and fell down a few times before finally standing up with wobbly legs. He stood there and prepared for whatever came next. With his finger, he pierced right through Shura’s chest. He had never felt this kind of pain before. The monster's, large nail was piercing him directly through his chest he could not say anything. The demon began to become pure energy and pump into Shura’s body. Until there was nothing left of him. The energy ran throughout of Shura’s body, manipulating, changing and reconstructing his body from scratch. Energy enveloped Shura’s body and his body began to fall downward.

It looked as if the light had left his eyes. Technically he was dead but alive at the same time. Shura fell several meters from the sky towards the ground. Before he could hit the ground he suddenly found himself waking up and his face slamming on the floor. He had fell out of his bed and awoken from the nightmare that gripped him so tightly.

Shura did not realize it but he had not even left his apartment. He stood up looking around with nothing but a confused and terrified look on his face. He rubbed his face his head and looked around. He blinked a few times thinking that it couldn’t have been a dream it all felt to real. Rubbing his body he began to laugh because he was all in one piece. He let out a sigh of relief but this was only the eye of the storm. “It was all a bad dream.” He laughed and walked into the bathroom while scratching his head. He had not seen himself just yet but as he walked into the bathroom he didn’t look in the mirror first. He turned on the shower head and turned it to max heat. Steam began to fill the room and he popped the toilet seat up. He popped his sexual extremity out and began to empty his bladder. Not saying anything he just thought about the things that he just went through. “Just a bad dream none of that was real, but it felt so real.”

Shura finished and hopped in the shower he cleaned himself but something seemed off. The water felt almost soothing to his skin. It was hotter than he usually turned it too. But it was not scalding, Shura chalked it up to it starting to get cold cause fall. Little did he know his body had already went through the change. Everything that happened wasn’t just a figment of his imagination. Everything about him had changed, his elemental affinity and his humanity had become tainted. Then his chest began to hurt. A throbbing, stabbing pain went through his chest. He almost fell over from grabbing his chest. He began to yell out in pain. Reaching for the handle of the knob he turned the water off but not without difficulty.

The water turned off but the pain didn’t. He stumbled naked out of the shower and held himself up with the shrink. His skin began to burn as if something was engaging itself his skin. Then the voice came once more, it was the demon. “It was no dream boy, you have become my vessel we are now one.”

Shura’s eyes were huge and he wiped the steam from the mirror to see he had changed. Where the demon had stabbed him in the dream there was a orange and red tattoo left in his skin. With magic runes engraved into it. His teeth had become sharpened as well. His eyes had become red in color from the blue. “Oh shit.”

Spoiler:

Shura realized that he made a deal with the devil. He was not sure of the repercussions of his actions but it was too late to turn back. The light had fled from his body and only left fire behind. Things were going to get a lot more interesting from here on out.