Crimson Rebellion

Heaven, the final destination of all souls worthy of paradise. To seek it and be embraced by it, many believed it to be a place only attainable once one accepts salvation. It is a place for the faithful and righteous, an Eden free from all worldly sickness and hardships. It is the final resting place for the saints of the most faithful and pure of heart; and for those who cleanses themselves of sin. Regardless of the practice one believed, the ideology surrounding the belief of what it was–heaven–was something shared. Thus what gave the conceptual definition to the higher realm of Elysium.

The Divine Realm, home to Counter Guardians, Heroic Spirits, and souls of the dearly departed alike was a place that embodied the idea of paradise in its truest sense. Golden streets, lush green fields, endless flowers, rivers of pure water, and an air of peace unlike any other; however, that scenery was shrouded by thick plumes of miasma and viscous substances of Outer Darkness eating away everything that remained after the incursion of the Abyss Order. The heavenly kingdom was turned upside down by the monstrous ethereal material as everything that was light was dissolved into nothingness. The souls that were shrouded within Sanctuary floated through the skies in howling embers of hellish green as their torment howled into the endless night.

Seated firmly upon a once golden throne now transformed into a flaming amalgamation of outer darkness and luminescent green mist, Perdition sat in his fully white robed attire. As he sat comfortably, he juggled around a singular golden flame in the palm of his hand which represented the Primordial Essence of Mercer, the God Hunter. As he sat there relishing in his victory thus far over Heaven, his wicked attendant–Acedia–appeared beside him and knelt before him.

"Feed the souls of heaven to the Throne to further enhance my newly acquired dominion. Azoth's reckoning is upon us, this war will be ours before long," the dark king commanded, which Acedia sought to accomplish without question.

She stood up from her position and raised her hands to the skies above. Using her Abyssal Authority, she rewrote the narrative of the souls of fallen Counter Guardians and Heroic Spirits thus derailing their inevitable fate of being reincarnated through the potential return of Elysium and feeding their natural life energies into the corrupted Throne. Their heavenly properties were fueling Perdition with greater power with each passing second. As she continued this task, embers of dark crimson flame broke through the veil of the realm and immediately traced its way back towards Perdition.

"My Lord, the authorities of the fallen warriors of the Abyss Order are returning home to you. It would seem Cain is not among them thanks to the God-King," Acedia passively observed.

"They allowed themselves to be culled by insignificant animals, thus no longer worthy of my banner. Cain would be the only one I regret losing the most. That cursed Akaro is nothing more than a petty thief for stealing an authority that belongs to me. Those held hostage by the rebels are nothing more than dead weight. We shall exhaust no resources in attempting to rescue them. Besides, we are on the cusp of completing our great work," Perdition expressed as he looked out to the horizon of the Dark Heaven.

In the distance, the lands of Elysium were being deconstructed and reconfigured into different organic forms altogether. The Silver City, Sanctuary, even the presence of the Throne of Heroes had dissipated away once Perdition took the Throne. What was once lands flowing with milk and honey became disconfigured forms of metallic structures and obsidian polygons thus creating complex constructs that mimicked broken fragments of reality. These fragments scattered about and littered the domain of the illustrious realm like cosmic debris in an asteroid belt. The horrific creatures of varying shapes and sizes known as the Tacet freely roamed around this territory at every turn as their shrieks and howls comprised the atmosphere of the planes of existence.

Where the Gates of Heaven once stood and the Crossroads connected were broken and disfigured in such a way that it conglomerated into a massive, irradiated fuschia stellar mass black hole that was absorbing countless Tacet. This twisted mass of creatures combined thereby forming an incomprehensible mass of tendrils and teeth with massive green eyes hungering for more. It was a bottomless pit of greed and unconscious malice that would threaten to devour anything in its path; an entity beyond all conventional concepts. It was a harbinger of a lifeform that was just a nightmare beckoned by whispers. A being of fear that was comparable to the Crawling Chaos, yet this was just an incomplete Echo of the notorious Eldritch Horror.

Perdition watched with a pleased expression as Elysium underwent the horrific transformation to suit his liking. As he sat upon the Throne of Heaven, he opened one eye feeling a disturbance in the atmosphere. In kind, Acedia turned on her heel and gazed towards the threshold leading into the antechamber. Violent shrieks of agony poured out as the audible singing of steel slicing through the air silenced cries in the darkness one after another. A lone set of footsteps echoed aloud before the door creaked open as a singular individual passed through.

The silhouette was revealed to be a mature male standing a little over six feet in height. He wore a dark gray kosode to match with a pair of deep violet hakama; attire fit for a samurai with one katana and one wakizashi hitched to his waist. His face was covered in facial hair that decorated both sides of his cheeks and around his upper lip to his chin; his black hair was tied up into a top knot with various strands scattered about; his countenance indicative of his intense fight to reach this point. The ronin continued his advance towards the throne.

"Shall I deal with this tactless vermin?" Acedia offered, the corners of her mouth twisting into a sadistic smile fueled by violent urges; however, Perdition raised a hand against that action before speaking.

"You embraced the light that the All-Mother offered and came this far in search of Akasha's foolish dream, did you not?" Perdition eloquently expressed, almost as if he was a professional businessman.

In response, the ronin drew his sword; the shining steel glimmering with the lingering will of all the fallen warriors claimed by the Outer Darkness within its sheen. With a tense, yet focused expression, he took up a battle ready stance.

"Takeo…of the Fifth Heavenly Legion, I challenge you!"

Without further delay, the samurai let out a mighty roar declaring his intent as he rushed towards his intended adversary. Perdition did not bat an eye as he witnessed the man run towards the throne betting the legacy of all the fallen heroes on one last desperate fight for liberation. The Dark God pointed at the samurai and pierced his chest from afar as the apparent spawn of a tiny blossom of Outer Darkness took root within the man. As the ronin collapsed, the visage of Perdition filled his mind and corroded his sanity.

"Turn away from the light of God and fall to despair! Fall like all those before you!" the Lord of Horrors commanded before his very ethereal essence is cast into the depths of Purgatory like Reina was eons ago.

"Father…" Acedia uttered in aspiration having been starstruck by Perdition's ruthlessness, "Ending hope and giving way to despair is what the Abyss Order stands for; no one else could possibly compare to your magnificence!"

"Indeed, now to enter the final act of this great poem at the end of the Seventh Cycle. Prepare the most powerful spawns of our Tacet forces for the invasion of the Oldest House. The time has come to end this once and for all," Perdition commanded.

"At once, Father," Acedia bowed whilst smiling insidiously knowing that the great Rakshasa would be awaiting the arrival of her children.

***

Back in the confines of the Tengu realm, the Crusader processed the Great Kurama's proposal once more.

"You want me to become the King of Inferno? I mean…I've been through Hell in more ways than one, but that hardly qualifies me for becoming its King. Plus…I'm not exactly the ruling type so…" Raizo tried to downplay it with visible confusion.

"Ah yes, I understand. You're right…totally my fault for thinking you were perfect for the job. I mean…king material? Yeah, nevermind. I should have considered your feelings more, especially since we're faced with impossible odds and an army that infinitely outnumbers us growing stronger and stronger with each passing second," Sivanah responded with a huge sigh and shrugged shoulders.

"Er…you didn't have to go that far…" Raizo ruffled his hair with embarrassment.

"Clearly. Look, my dear, sweet, naive little disciple; in order to face the might of the Abyss Order and their Tacet, we need an army of our own," the Tengu illustrated.

"What do you mean? There's nothing in Hell that could hope to match their power," Akame pondered.

"Right. I mean the evils I saw during my battle with Lucifer and the Demon Gods ruled by Goetia in the temple of time couldn't possibly match the Tacet in any sense," Raizo concurred with a nod.

"Oh my adorably naive Senpai, you really don't see the point of what Siva-chan is saying, do ya? Well allow me to help," Shelbee smirked as she dotted Raizo on the nose. "Those pesky demons and the Demon God Pillars are merely small parts of a greater whole that encompasses what Hell truly is."

"Indeed. When one digs deeper into that domain, the great pool of demons and sinners are interwoven with the pool of shadow archetypes within the Collective Unconsciousness of mankind. The evil, undesirable, or sinful; all that is cast in the shadows becomes part of Inferno–a place where every interpretation of an afterlife where sinners must dwell become one of many realities within it. Lucifer's Capital City of Pandemonium and the Temple of Time? Those are mere territories that make up less than 1% of what Inferno truly is…" Altair interrupted BB's monologue before diving into detail.

"Precisely," Sivanah nodded before calmly continuing the lesson.

"These countless afterlifes are like the realms within Elysium, where spirits discover their personal idea of heaven and eternal peace. The Golden City, home to heroes and the King of Heaven, is the first heaven–the source of all others. The same goes for the demonic realms. The True Inferno is the original Hell, the place from which all other hells are born."

"So every religion is right, yet none of them are correct," Akame mused softly, "Leave it to Kimiko to make the afterlife a matter of personal choice."

"The devils of this original hellscape are much like the Primordial Gods to demonkind–only far more enigmatic. They rarely, if ever, set foot in the hells we know," Sivanah interjected casually brushing a few strands of hair to the side.

"Alright…but how do we even find our way into this…Primeval Infernum?" Raizo asked, taking a moment to come up with the new moniker on the spot. This caused Sivanah to relinquish an unexpected burst of laughter before playfully slapping the Crusader on his bare back.

"I like that name," she grinned, "Primeval Infernum…fitting."

Her smile faded away as she leaned back into the seriousness of the matter.

"Getting there isn't simple. The secret of entering that domain is a closely guarded treasure of the Tengu."

From that sentiment, the others in the group paused, feeling like she would not relinquish that information even under present circumstances. The Great Kurama Tengu turned her attention towards Raizo with a knowing gaze.

"You need to reach inward, Raizo. Use your Understanding of the Tao. It's the only way to sense the path to this otherwise unreachable place."

"Right…" Raizo took a deep breath. A sharp chill overtook him as he felt the pressure hit him momentarily.

"You should probably put on a jacket, you know. I dig the shirtless look with the long hair, but it might be a little breezy where we're going next. I dunno, that's just me," BB teased from the side.

"Yeah…point taken," he said as he took a moment to project a simple red and black bomber jacket to cover up with. A proper outfit could come later. Once he clothed his chest, he closed his eyes and stilled his mind turning inward for insight.

Taking the information he received into account, he proceeded to visualize the unknowable realm. At first, a faint, ethereal doorway entered his mind but with his newfound enlightenment, he willed it into reality thus creating a solid door that everyone could see.

"I shall take the defeated Abyss Order members into custody and check on the others," Reina expressed, stepping forward as she observed the events unfolding before her. She turned a reaffirming gaze towards Raizo and gave him encouragement.

"Do not worry, the Great One and our new visitors will be with you."

With that, the Sovereign of Cocytus took the unconscious bodies of Featherine and Magane before disappearing from sight. Sivanah, Akame, BB and Altair then filed in behind Raizo before they collectively passed through the doorway. In a wild flash, they emerged from the other side finding themselves in a precarious situation.

"What the…" Raizo gasped as his body experienced the sensation of freefall. He turned his eyesight to witness countless doors of various sizes, colors, and shapes blanketing the skies above before he saw the verdant green landscape awaiting below.

"Try not to lose your shit too much everyone!" Sivanah shouted out with a unique grin on her features.

"Never a dull moment," Akame sighed, somewhat indifferent to this occurrence.

"Hold me close, Senpai!" BB squealed as she tried to grip onto Raizo's shoulders while they began to fall. Altair was just silent over the entire state of things at this current point.

What new questions awaited them could only be discovered once they reached the ground below.