What felt like centuries proved to only be months, and yet the amount of change that occurred was still jarring. Earthland was a long missed dwelling, starkly different from the malice and horrors that imprisoned him. His escape was a matter of luck and perseverance. The details of how he even reached the land of demons hazy, Saga’s memories fractured and unclear. The obscura within his body no doubt a bridge to hell incarnate. The things he saw, the power he witnessed, the powerlessness he felt, all etched into his being like the carvings of a crazed sculptor.

Though not entirely a fruitless endeavor, the journey was far from comforting. While being no stranger to demons, the sheer abundance of them shook the young Peregrandian to his very core. The various cultures and societies, and lack thereof, introduced him to a world he never prepared himself to see. Hunted for sport, survival was not only imperative, it was all there was. Lower ranked demons tested themselves against the mettle of the half breed that wandered their lands. Many failed, but victory was both far and few between for the absent rune knight as well.

He ran, hid, anything he could to avoid his demise at the hand of the demons whose power dwarfed his tenfold. The sport of the hunt appeased those who saw him as nothing more than a plaything, a source of amusement for some, an opportunity for others. A young daemon with no contractor and his obscura connection fully intact? There were many uses for one such as him, none of which were beneficial to him. Though the ordeal did plant a powerful seed within him.

A hunger for power greater than anything he had ever known.

No one came to save him, and he never expected them to. The Abyss was a test of his resolve, his desire, his belief. But that test ended as abruptly as it began. After all, a bridge goes both ways. The trigger unknown, but the same obscure connection that pulled him from the familiar streets of Era to the Abyss had returned him, though a drastically different person than the one that had departed.

A little over a week has already passed since his return. Countless debriefings and evaluations took place over that span of time. The Rune Knights wanted to gather as much information as they could about the Abyss while also informing Saga of all the changes and events that occurred during his absence. They also wanted to ascertain his mental state and general well being after such a demanding trial. Today was the first day since he had returned that he was allowed to operate on his own accord, though he was still restricted to headquarters for the time being.

His stroll through the halls of the headquarters was disorienting to say the least, the establishment proving to be overly familiar and yet entirely foreign in each waking moment. He was still processing the changes he missed, his newfound obscura cloak flowing in the end as it marked a trail of his return. His mind wandered as much as his body did, trying to determine what his place in the world would be now. And how long would it be before he returned to the hellscape that was home to the power inside of him.

The slow, steady pace of his steps would reach an abrupt halt as he turned a corner to an unexpected but welcomed sight. ”Toga?!”

WC: 616