"Mmm...no...no, no. Stay back..."

Axel twitched uncomfortably on the bed; his body was covered in cold sweat. A lump on the bedroom floor served as the crumpled-up blankets that had been kicked off due to Axel's numerous fidgets and shifts. Axel's brows were scrunched together, and his lips were parted slightly, quiet moans of distress filtering from them as he relived the nightmare that had haunted him from a young age.

"No...don't...don't come near..."

The silhouette of a man standing before him was the cause of Axel's discomfort. A strong desire for the man to stay away consumed Axel as he was forced to endure the bloody dream once more. Pain seized Axel as sharp steel was thrust into his back. Looking down, Axel's eyes widened as he saw the tip of a black blade protruding from his chest.

The silhouette hurried over to Axel as he fell to his knees and clutched the blade. The moment the silhouette reached him, Axel pressed his hand into the man's chest to keep him from touching the blade. It was poisoned. How he knew, Axel could not tell. A deep sense of caution was the only reason he kept the man from touching the deadly metal.

He had to protect him. He could not let the man get hurt because of him. However, despite his efforts to keep the man away, the silhouette brought Axel into his arms and held him closely.

"NO!!!" Just as the man neared Axel, he sat up in bed yelling for him to stop, not to touch him. Axel's chest rose and fell rapidly as he breathed haggardly. Beads of sweat clung to his forehead and dripped from his strands of blond hair, wetting the sheets beneath him.

Through all these dreams, Axel had never been able to see the man's face fully, nor did he know the reason for being stabbed and wanting to protect the silhouette. Nor did he know the root source of the strange visions.

Looking at the stand beside his bed, Axel read the time on the holographic clock, which was four in the morning. Three hours before my alarm.

Huffing quietly, Axel swung his legs over the side of the bed and set them on the cool surface of the tiled floor. Axel ran his fingers through his wet hair before pressing his feet onto the floor and standing from the bed. Slipping his soaked shirt over his head, Axel entered the washroom connected to his bedroom and turned on the shower.

Keeping the water cold, Axel stepped into the chilled liquid and let the shower drench his body. Pressing his forehead against the cool, tiled wall, Axel breathed in deeply before exhaling and letting his arms relax.

Axel remained beneath the cold water for a few more minutes before deactivating the shower and grabbing the towel that was hung on the washroom door. Laying the towel over his head, Axel dried his hair before wiping down his body and coming to stand before the mirror. His blond hair hung just above his eyes, but he wished it would grow longer to cover the one thing that separated him from the majority of his peers: his eyes.

Axel leaned in toward the mirror and stared at his silver orbs. No one would know he was different if it were not for his eyes. They were bright and bold and were nearly impossible to not notice at first glance. It was for this reason that everyone knew exactly what he was.

If he could wear sunshades every day, he would. But school policy would not allow for that, so Axel had no choice but to parade himself around as a mixed breed. Everyone he met knew that he was half-human and half-angel. But not everyone was happy about it.

Angels and demons have been integrated into Earth's societies for hundreds of years, but prejudice is a strong sensation that cannot be easily tamed. Although angels, demons, and humans have been able to live together without war for nearly five hundred years, mixed offspring of any combination of the three were looked down upon and scorned.

Pure human, pure angel, or pure demon were preferred. Axel had tried to introduce himself as a pure angel rather than a half-breed but upon first glance at his human father, one would immediately know he was mixed.

Most of the students at Axel's high school let him be as Axel was the quiet type and mostly kept to himself. But there were a select few who would give Axel hell should the opportunity arise. Being kind-natured and good at heart, Axel never retaliated and merely did his best to defend himself from the bullies.

If defending himself meant dealing a few punches here and there, Axel would not spare the hits. But the moment he got the upper hand, Axel would back down and leave the bullies instead of harming them any more than necessary. He was just in his defense and never once allowed his angelic abilities, limited as they were, to injure another.

Ruffling his damp hair, Axel puffed a breath of air before leaving the washroom and changing into a clean set of his school uniform. Once dressed, Axel quietly slipped out of his bedroom and made his way down the narrow hallway before emerging into the small living and kitchen area.

Axel let out a sigh at the emptied bottles of liquor and beer scattered over the couch and living room floor. Pulling the hood of the jacket, which he had thrown on top of his uniform, over his head, Axel grabbed his book bag before advancing to the apartment's door.

A slurred moan filtered from the room just behind Axel causing him to look back. Peering through the cracked door, Axel saw his father passed out on his bed with an empty bottle lying beside his right hand.

Ever since the death of his mother twelve years ago, Axel's father had entered a slump of depression that prevented him from carrying out his duties as a parent as well as weakened his quality of life due to the heavy abuse of alcohol.

Pushing the door, Axel quietly entered the room and pulled the blanket to cover his father's chest and shoulders before removing the empty bottle from the bed and sliding a pillow beneath his dad's head. Once his father was comfortable, Axel exited his dad's bedroom and left the apartment.

Taking the lift from the twentieth floor to the ground level, Axel exited the lowly apartment complex and entered the colorful, dark city of Dexys. Neon lights from holographs and screens decorated the cityscape and lit the streets as people bustled through the vibrant city.

News from other cities and countries was announced from holographs as well as from the sides of hovercrafts as they flew above the streets. Dexys was a cultural hub for Earth and was one of the biggest cities on the planet. However, one element sets it apart from every other place on Earth. Dexys was home to the Transport Tower that connected Earth to the Heavens.

Dexys thrived off the business and culture exchange that occurred between Earth, the Heavens, and Hades. Only planets that were ranked 1-10 —high-ranking planets— had transport towers, so many residents and business leaders from lower-ranking planets —planets with 10-20 in rank of development, technology, diversity, and culture— across the universe would come to Earth to use Dexys' Transport Tower to conduct their work.

This brought prosperity as well as diversified the residents of Earth. However, no matter how many varying beings made Earth their home, prejudice for mixed offspring remained a tried and true obstacle for children birthed from two differing beings.

Axel kept his eyes lowered and his hood pulled over his eyes as he walked through the colorful city. The streets were not as packed as they would be during the day, but there was still a substantial amount of residents out and about for four in the morning.

Most people left Axel alone when they saw his school uniform. Having good grades, Axel managed to get accepted to the most prominent high school in his district. Being known to school kids from wealthy families, most students who attended Dexys High were treated carefully by the rest of the city's residents.

Having around three hours before the start of his classes, Axel meandered the city aimlessly as a means to kill time. Once he woke from the nightmares, it was pointless to try to go back to sleep. And rather than lying in bed restlessly, Axel preferred to walk the city at night as that was the time when the colors were most vibrant.

Now that the time was nearing five in the morning, the city was beginning to wake. Slowly but surely, as Axel continued through the city, the streets became busier and the sidewalks filled with people. With the waking city came more noise which caused Axel to reach into his jacket pocket and retract his hand to reveal two small dots. Placing one dot in each ear, Axel activated the device's noise-cancellation and selected a song to listen to as he continued his stroll down the city avenue.

Being half-angel, Axel's sense of hearing was much more sensitive than the average person's. Axel had also not been trained to hone his abilities and thus had a harder time regulating them than other supernatural beings. Closing his eyes and breathing in softly, Axel allowed the flowing music to absorb his thoughts as the noise-cancellation successfully drowned out the loud bustling of the city.

Releasing a breath, Axel continued walking until he found himself standing at the entrance to one of the wide bridges that crossed the river snaking through the dense city. Entering the pedestrian walkway on the left side of the bridge, Axel began walking over the dark river, his head turned toward the water as he admired the city's reflection on the deep waters.

Axel took his time crossing the bridge and was able to shave off a substantial portion of the time left before his class began. Understanding he would need to head to school shortly, Axel removed the buds from his ears and focused on searching for an opening to the city's underground transit system. Spotting an opening roughly thirty yards in front of him on the opposite side of the road, Axel quickly crossed the street and made his way to the underground entrance.

However, as he neared the entrance, a hologram on the side of one of the sky-reachers suddenly switched its display to the day's breaking news. Axel slowed his steps as he heard the female reporter announce, "Citizens of Dexys, a report has just been received regarding diplomatic relations with Hades. Demon King Aklys has been overthrown during an uprising that took place in Hades roughly six hours ago and has since been missing. No word has been heard from the officials of Hades, but we can expect new treaties and negotiations to take place in the following weeks once the situation in Hades has settled. Updates shall be given as they are received." A short pause sounded before the reporter signed off. "This is Sasha Stones reporting to you live from This is Dispatch here in Dexys City."

The city returned to its usual business when the holograph switched to its normal display, and the news broadcasting was disconnected. However, Axel remained frozen. He had been frozen still during the entirety of the reporter's news showing. From the moment he had heard the name "Aklys," Axel had been unable to move and had remained stuck in his place. He had not caught much of what the reporter had said after she had announced the Demon King's disappearance.

Eyes wide, Axel turned his head up and looked at the holograph where the reporter once was. Dexys' residents appeared to be unfazed by the sudden news as it did not concern them...but Axel could not say the same. Fear struck his soul, and he brought his hands before his eyes to find them shaking.

Aklys... Why does the name feel familiar...?