Shouts rang throughout the stone halls of the stronghold of Hades. Small weapons and communication devices were thrown and smashed as the king of Hell scorned a demon kneeling before his throne. "You dare return in defeat?!" The king struck the demon across the face. "You could not keep the tower and you could not find the star!"

A strike on the face usually did not draw blood from the demon general, but this strike was dealt from the demon king's hand. The demon general spat a small mouthful of blood onto the ground as the king stormed up to his throne. The scorned demon kept his head lowered and eyes turned to the stone floor as the king sat in his extravagant throne.

Fear struck the general's heart as he heard the king give his guards a simple command. "Bring him."

The kneeling demon struggled to hide his expression of pain and torment as an angel was dragged into the king's hall. The angel was limp and barely conscious as he was roughly delivered to the king's feet. It took the general's all to keep himself from rushing to the angel who gave a pained grunt as the king kicked him in disgust.

Blood oozed from the many marks of torture torn in the angel's flesh, and the red liquid stained the angel's silver-blue hair. The prisoner's lips were parted slightly, and his brows were furrowed from the endless pain that assaulted his body.

"We had a deal," the king growled. He signaled at a guard who approached the angel and grabbed him by the hair. The guard jerked the prisoner's head back and placed a sharp dagger against his throat. The angel's eyes flickered open slowly, revealing golden-honey eyes.

Realizing the angel was near execution due to his failure, the demon general plead with his king. "I'll find him! I will deliver the star to you. Please, grant me another day."

The king observed the general's desperation for a silent moment before giving him mercy. "Bring him to me before the blood sun. And keep in mind, I need that star specifically."

The general bowed his head in gratitude. "Yes, sire."

"I would advise you to hurry. I am losing my patience. He has already transferred five angels!!" The king yelled and gestured to the prisoner. "How many more angels will I lose before the blood sun?!"

A small smirk formed on the angel's lips as if to say, 'Fuck you.' Though he did not have the strength to spite the king verablly, the angel declared a silent promise. I will transfer all the angels you drag down here, Vitrius. Even if it means dying with the blood sun.

Once the general had promised to keep his end of the deal, the guard removed the dagger from the prisoner, revealing a red cut on the angel's throat. A groan escaped the angel's lips as he was roughly dragged away and out of sight from the general who watched the angel be hauled away with sadness and longing before backing out of the king's throne room.

"Aklys!"

The demon stopped in the hallway outside the throne room as a younger demon raced up to him. "What did he say?" The demon inquired with worried eyes.

"He gave me until the blood sun," Aklys responded.

"That's good. What are you going to do?"

The demon general's expression hardened as determination filled him. "I'm going to find the star. Ready my men. We leave in two hours."

"Yes, general," the younger demon voiced with a nod of his head before rushing down the dark corridor.

Aklys lingered in the hallway when a cry of pain echoed from beneath where he stood. The demon general clenched his fists as he recognized the voice of the one in torment.

"Hold on, Rion. Please, hold on." Aklys fought the coming tears and stormed off to prepare for departure. He would return with the star no matter what.

LOCATION CHANGE: SENDRUM

TIME LAPSE: ONE MONTH BEFORE KILO ESCAPED HADES

The shattering of the crypt woke the human from his coma. Devyn opened his eyes to see beautiful, golden shards falling all around him. He shielded his head with his arm as the crystalline fragments fell. The human breathed in fresh air as the bursting of the crypt concluded and opened his eyes. Warm breath caressed his skin. Devyn's breath hitched as he looked at the sleeping demon beside him. His curious emerald eyes wandered to the demon's long lashes and pointed nose before falling on his slightly parted lips. Why is he still asleep? The crypt is gone. Devyn reached out and poked Denzyl's arm: no response.

The human looked around. They were still in the slit of the cliff. Devyn's back itched, so he reached to scratch it. Devyn quickly pulled his hand away when he remembered his wounds. But, strangely, his back did not hurt...it itched. The human slowly reached his arm behind his body and felt his back. The wounds were gone. There were not even scars. The skin was smooth and healthy.

He healed me. Is this why Denzyl is still in a coma? Devyn decided to let Denzyl sleep in thanks for healing him and used his arm as a pillow as he looked at the demon. Denzyl's pale face seemed peaceful as he steadily breathed in and out. Devyn found himself admiring the sparse light seeping into the slit illuminating the demon in a slight halo.

Entranced by the man in front of him, Devyn did not see the people approaching the slit until he heard the cry, "The crypt is gone!"

The call sent adrenaline pumping through the human's veins as he heard footsteps quickly approaching the slit. Devyn looked in horror as six demons entered the slit. "Hey, Denzyl. Wake up. Denzyl!" The human nudged Denzyl but to no avail. The demon remained in a deep sleep.

Devyn tried to stand as the demons reached him, but his body was still recovering from coming out of a coma. He fumbled to his knees as the shadows of the demons loomed over him.

"Who are you?" Devyn asked defensively as the demons eyed him hungrily.

A demon in the front of the pack snickered. "Take him." Two demons stepped forward to obey the command and grabbed Devyn.

"Why isn't he waking up?" Another demon asked as he eyed the sleeping Denzyl curiously.

"He used too much energy. He won't be awake for a while," the first demon answered before turning to Devyn. "In the meantime, we have this one to play with," he sneered.

Devyn struggled against his captors, but his strength could not even compare to theirs. The helpless human was pulled away from the only man who could protect and save him.

"Bring Denzyl, too. We have some questions for him," the leading demon ordered.

Two demons picked Denzyl up as Devyn was dragged out of the cliff. Devyn was tied and thrown into the back of a hovercraft waiting outside the slit. Denzyl was laid down next to the human and bound. Devyn was thrown into the side of the open craft as the demon controlling the hovercraft sped off at full speed. The human kept his head down to fight off the freezing winds and to keep an eye on the unconscious Denzyl. After about four hours of speeding over the rocky terrain of Sendrum, the craft entered a medium-sized town located beneath a great mountain range.

There was no time for Devyn to take in his surroundings as he was dragged off the craft and thrown onto the rough ground. New, fresh cuts were slashed into Devyn's hands as he braced his landing. Devyn looked up at the craft to see Denzyl being carried off and brought into the town. A fist around his hair rudely jerked Devyn's gaze away from Denzyl. The human hissed as pain shot through his neck as he was pulled to his feet. Hands grappled Devyn's arms and led him away from the craft and towards the edge of the town. Devyn looked up at the mountains looming over him. The material of the mountains was the same sharp, slick rock that made up the rest of the planet, but blue ice covered most of the mountains from the midway to the top.

Huge, thick spikes with creased edges created out of the same razor-sharp rock decorated the base of the mountains. Being erected out of the ground at numerous angles, the spikes pointed in every direction, creating a deadly barrier along the mountain range. A door was carved into one of the larger spikes directly before the group was their destination. The sharp ground cut Devyn's bare feet as he was dragged into the darkness that lay behind the chained door.

The human's heart raced with fear as the smell of blood welcomed him as he was hauled through the door. Dark stains covered the metal rods drilled into the ceiling and ground that served as dividers between cages. Hooks and devices decorated the walls while chains adorned the ground and top of the cells. Devyn held his breath as he was dragged past several cells before he was roughly thrown into an empty cage. The smell of blood was still prevalent, and deep red stains covered the cot stationed in the corner of the cell.

What is going on? Are these people part of Denzyl's clan? Where is Denzyl?

Devyn sat curled up in the cell for nearly two hours before the door to the hold opened and the lead demon from the cliff walked in. The human held his breath as the demon's footfalls neared his holding cell. Devyn tightened his arms around his legs as the demon unlocked his cage and entered. Devyn shrank away as the demon bent down next to him and extracted a folded knife from his pant pocket.

Devyn took one look at the blade before turning his head away and frantically backing away from the demon. Flames flickered in the demon's eyes at the human's attempt to escape him. Devyn let out a hiss of pain as the demon fisted his hair. The demon then yanked Devyn's head back and forced the human to look at him.

"Tsk tsk. You're more squeamish than I was expecting. I thought you'd be more fun since you were able to survive Denzyl for so long."

Devyn stared at the demon with rage and disdain. He could already tell that there was a vast difference between this demon and the one who had bought him. Denzyl did not have the crazed, psychotic glint in his eye. This demon enjoyed violence, no, he craved it. And Devyn had just become his new toy.

The human stared at the man looming over him with a hateful gaze before the demon jerked his wrist to the side before releasing his grasp around Devyn's hair. "Now, tell me, why were you found in a soul crypt with our avex?"

Devyn was less concerned about whatever was spilling out from the demon's lips and more concerned about the knife that was constantly being twirled between his captor's fingers. "No, not there. Look here. Up here." The demon used his knife to gesture up toward his face when he realized the human was too fixated on his blade.

Devyn swallowed dryly and reluctantly lifted his gaze to peer into the demon's dead, cold eyes. Fear consumed Devyn as the demon watched him with perverted insanity. "Good! Now that I have your attention, let's get started, shall we?" The demon then slipped his blade back into his pocket before grabbing Devyn's tied hands and looping them onto a chain that was hooked to the top of the cage.

He then took a twisted rag and forced it between Devyn's teeth before tying it tightly behind the human's head. "Can't have you waking the neighbors," the demon sneered into Devyn's ear before walking back in front of the human with his knife back in his hand.

Devyn shivered in fear as the demon twirled his knife between his fingers and smirked evilly while approaching the chained human. Panic filled Devyn, and he lifted his legs into the air and kicked at the demon in an attempt to keep him away. However, this only excited the deranged demon; he enjoyed the human's defiance and savored Devyn's sad efforts to defend himself.

Devyn's mind called out for help as his captor easily caught his legs and subdued him before lifting his knife and sneering at him. Denzyl, where are you?!