Crimson Overlord

After leaving Amber to fight the origin beasts, Orpheus stepped across space to appear in a desolate world.

''Why not come out? I'm in your temporary world. It is rude to let your guest wait don't you know?" Orpheus's voice echoed inside the desolate world.

At first, nobody answered, only silence, but this silence lasted a minute before someone started laughing.

''Hahahaha! Well said, my bad.''

Space was ripped apart, and from the void, a man walked out. This man wore butler clothes and an eye patch; it was Old Gus, the twins' butler.

Immediately after appearing, Old Gus smiled; his expression was like a man meeting an old friend after a long time.

''Long time no see, my friend.'' He said, still wearing the same smile he had since his arrival.

Orpheus's eyes narrowed dangerously, and his voice turned colder than usual.

''I don't remember being a friend with you, Kratos, so cut the bullshit.''

Despite Orpheus's words, Old Gus, whose real name was Kratos, smiled as though nothing could affect him.

''Hahaha, you don't have to be shy. We are between friends.''

''Stop playing around, Kratos,'' Orpheus said with a calm voice, but inwardly he was nothing but calm.

Rumble!

The sky above them rumbled, and dark clouds began to gather proof of his anger; if Amber were present, she would be shocked as to her master wasn't the emotional type; he was someone who had control over her emotions. People like that are not easy to anger, but currently, Orpheus is angry.

''How sad, Nero!" Kratos said, and the sky rumbled even more.

''Ops! Should I have said Nero Bloodfall or Kyle Prime?" Kratos teased.

RUUUUMBLE! RIPPPP!

Under Orpheus's anger, the desolate world began shaking as though it would get destroyed at any moment. The surrounding spaces began to twist.

Orpheus calmed down, and everything went back to normal but then Kratos, whose face never loses its playfulness changed. It was because the current Orpheus was dangerous. A chill raced down his spine when he looked at him, and Kratos knew better than anybody how dangerous this man before him could be; he might be currently injured, but it doesn't make him less dangerous.

''Ah! You are no fun, Nero.'' Kratos said with a sigh.

Orpheus ignored his comment and asked.

''Why do you appear here?"

Kratos almost said I'm here because of the twins but knowing that this excuse wouldn't work, he decided to state why he came.

''Well, I wanted to speak with you. It has been thousand years already. A lot of things have changed. I know why you came, but it would have been better if you didn't come.''

Orpheus said nothing; he stared at Kratos making the latter chuckle.

''What happened could be said to be our fault. We-"

''So, to reduce your sin, you became her bodyguard?" Orpheus cut Kratos mid-sentence and asked.

For a moment, Kratos face was a mix of grief, anger, and remorse; shaking off those emotions, he looked directly into Orpheus's eyes and responded.

''Yes, but at the same time, it's to protect them, I mean her against people like you. You did nothing but bring her endless suffering. She would be better off without you in her life.''

As Kratos spoke, the world began to tremble as if responding to his will; terrific gravitational force tried to pin Orpheus down, but he snorted, and the gravitational force disappeared like it was a joke.

''And will would I care about your opinion? I never had, and I never will. If fate wants us apart, I will smash fate itself because I'm me, I'm Orpheus Kyle Nero Blake, the man that does what he wants. I'm not going to be anybody's chess piece because I will do whatever I want.'' Orpheus declared, and every word he said seemed to contain powerful will that made any listener believe that this man's will was strong, but will alone would not be enough.

''You don't want to be anyone chess piece?" Kratos asked with an amused grin.

Orpheus's eyes gleamed dangerously, making Kratos shiver involuntary, but he must not stop here.

''Forget it, smart as you are, you must understand that you are odd, too odd-even, nobody knows anything about you. We might have been the one that caused you to become what you are right now, but even that, I'm not sure about it. I felt like we are all chess pieces on top of a giant board. Simply thinking about this makes me shiver for hours.''

Orpheus knew better than anybody what Kratos was talking about. How could he not? It was one of his concerns, knowing who he truly is? His existence was shrouded in mystery. One of the reasons for a comeback was to uncover his identity; as someone that loves to control things, he must know who his identity if not, he would feel like he was dancing within someone else palm, something his very existence disliked.

''I do understand your point, but you don't make me appear simply to say those words do you?" Orpheus asked with a chuckle. He crossed his arms as if something fun was about to happen.

''Hehehe! You know me too well, Nero.'' Kratos said while cracking his knuckles; a fight was about to begin.