"What are you doing here?" Leo asked disinterestedly as he looked around, trying to make sense of where he had appeared.

Unfortunately...

"Don’t bother, prince. I don’t think this is anywhere we’ve been before." A too cheerful for the environment voice stopped him.

"Haaa... and how would you know that, huh, Aegon?" He asked, finally focusing his attention on the two people before him.

"Fufufufufu... you should already know how by now, no?" The speaker was a young man with waist length black hair. His eyes blindfolded. He stood casually, his guard completely dropped.

His partner on the other hand.

With his mouth sealed shut. Cold eyes. And brown hair cut short, stood at an alertness one would have when facing a wild beast.

Leo’s uninterested eyes fell upon the alert young man.

The moment they did, the youth immediately tensed up.

"Heh! You really think if I wanted to hurt you, you would stand a chance?" He laughed.

"That remains to be seen, o’prince." The young man replied stoically.

Just as the tension looked ready to snap...

"Oh come one you guys... why are you like this? Can’t we all just get along?" The blind fold wearing youth chirped up. A goofy smile on his face as he stood between Leo’s crouched form and the sealed mouthed youth.

"Heh! Whatever.. I’m not in the mood for bloodshed right now anyways." Leo scoffed. Waving a nonchalant paw at the two.

"Yayyy!!!" The blindfold wearing youth cheered.

"That’s the spirit. see, Baron? I told you he was cool. I’m sure we can all be friends."

"Don’t push it Aegon. Now tell me, what are you doing here?" Leo asked, finally rising from his crouched position.

His massive frame cast a shadow on the two young men.

"What else could I be doing here? Of course the abyss decided to spawn me here at random. But, imagine my surprise when I felt your energy signature nearby. I dare say this is fate wanting us to be friends and partners hahahahahaha...." The young man, Aegon, laughed.

"But. You seem to really be taking your distaste for humans too seriously. How can you be comfortable in that form everytime." The young man tilted his head as he looked up.

"This form suits me better. Humanoids are pathetically weak."

"Ouch... I wouldn’t believe you thought that way considering how close you appeared to be with that young man from earlier..."

The moment the young man, Aegon, said those words, the air froze.

Grrrrrr.....

A monstrous growl tore out of Leo’s throat as a deathly shiver ran through the spines of the two young men.

"Damn it. You bastard. Why can’t you ever shut up." The youth with the sealed mouth, Baron, immediately went on the alert.

"My bad! I mean no harm. I swear." Aegon raised both hands in surrender.

Leo’s wings opened up as a baleful aura kept saturating the environment..

"I promise. I don’t mean any harm. I doubt I could even harm him."

The words of the young man seemed effective as Leo’s aura stopped rising.

Eventually dying out..

"Haaa... really. How did I ditch one annoyance just to end up meeting another one?" Leo grunted. The sound sending the encroaching decay scattering.

"Hehehe... I was just curious is all." Aegon laughed awkwardly.

"Don’t be. He’s not somebody you want to play your games with. He won’t be as lenient as I am."

"Ehhh!! But I wasn’t even planing anything bad. Just a spar. My little brother wants to instigate something. I’m curious why he’s using that guy instead."

"Your little brother seems a lot smarter than you." Leo laughed.

"Hmmm? What does that mean?"

"It means, If you face Dante, you’ll die."

"But isn’t that a bit too excessive for a spar?"

"It is. But, your spar wouldn’t end as a spar. Knowing you, I’m sure you’ll lose yourself after becoming instantly overwhelmed. Then, in your excitement, you’ll release your killing intent. But, here’s the thing. I might be merciful enough to look past that and consider the spar. But Dante... he won’t."

"...."

"So. Let me spare you the time. Take the advice I’m sure that stone head over there has probably given you. Avoid fighting Dante at all costs. You will die. And there’s nothing you can do about it."

...

...

A heavy silence fell upon the place as Leo kept spreading his senses out, trying to find anything that could lead him to anywhere that wasn’t the middle of nowhere.

"Heh... hahahahahahahahahhaahaha...." Aegon suddenly burst into laughter.

"For you to hold him in such regard... NOW I’M EVEN MORE EAGER TO FACE HIM.. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA..." a crazed battle lusted smile split his face as he laughed into the sky...

"Idiot."

"It’s your funeral. Suit yourself." Leo shrugged.

"I will. But first. We need to get out of here." Composing himself once more, Aegon replied.

"And I’m assuming you have a way to get us out?" Leo asked.

"Guess..."

"Haaa.. that old dean. To think he’s actually taking this thing serious enough to send your goofy ass into the abyss."

"Hey!!!!"

"Whatever I guess. Whatever games you and that old man are playing, leave me out of it. So long as you get me out of here, I’m fine. I just need to find that bastard before he tears this place apart." Leo grunted.

"Heheheh... leave it to me." Saying so, the young man reached for his blindfold.

SHIIING!!!!

The moment he pulled them down.

A blinding blue glow illuminated the entire expanse.

Even the vile atmosphere recoiled from the light.

Moments later. The light died out. Revealing a pair of beautiful sky blue eyes that mesmerized one just by looking at them.

"Damn it..." Leo muttered under his voice.

"I know. They’re breathtaking, aren’t they? Truly a burden only someone as handsome as me could bear." Aegon lamented.

"I wish I could be like you two. Nothing special. Just average looking eyes. But alas..." shaking his head in mock sadness, he sat down on the floor, crossing his legs.

Leo and Baron merely looked on without saying another word.

Clearly used to the shamelessness of the young man named Aegon.

"Alright then... let’s see where we are.." muttering under his breath, he closed his eyes as his breath slowly dropped...

Only the distant howls of the Abyss remained.

Until Leo decided to break the heavy silence...

"You know. Waiting like this won’t do us any good since he’s not going to be getting done anytime soon." Leo’s words put the young man on alert.

"What are you suggesting?"

"How about a little spar. Just me and you. One on one. Like the good old days." He grinned.

"There were never any good old days between us."

"Well. We can start now no? Better late than never." His grin widened as a wicked light flashed past his eyes.

...

Silence fell as Baron considered the offer. But, he was never one to back down from a challenge to begin with. Even if victory was impossible, the answer would always remain the same...

"Alright then. You’re on."

Leo’s grin sharpened as all his teeth were put on display.

"Good choice. This is going to be fun...

.......

.......

A day later...

BOOOM!!!

A dull explosion sounded out as our fists collided once more.

The deadlock lasted a few seconds before.

"Slow...." My words stopped the clone for a brief instant.

An instant that was enough.

My fist slipped beneath the clone’s guard before erupting upward into its jaw, but..

"Disperse...." The entire force behind the blow disappeared on contact.

"Do better.. me." The words hadn’t even completed when...

SHING!!!

A brilliant gold light flashed.

"Ho... how?" The clone’s eyes widened in shock as his body split cleanly down the middle...

"Future severance..." a wild and toothy grin split my face as I replied.

"Damn... and here I thought... I had stopped that shit.. heh. Good one, me." The clone grinned as its body began breaking apart slowly.

"Heh! It couldn’t be helped. It didn’t matter what you did. There will always only be one me after all."

"Hahahahahahaha.... You’re a very arrogant prick, you know that?"

"Heh! It’s not arrogance if it’s true."

"Heh! Can’t argue with that. See ya..." the clone’s body finally broke apart completely as it dissolved into golden particles that drifted away.

Silence returned to the ruined landscape as...

[Ding!]

[Comprehension complete...]

[Synchronization complete...]

Finally... I was ready to move out.

"Time to see what this abyss truly has to offer."

but first..

Space folded as my figure disappeared from the deep crater I had been in.

Appearing before the headless corpse of the creature I had killed last time, an excited grin appeared on my face.

"Let’s see what you’ve got for Big D, shall we?"

"Devour...."

*********

A/N: these abyss Chapters really do be looking like they’ll be longer than normal.. damn. More work... Haa.. anyways..

**********

Thanks for reading...