Closer

Prologue

        Thousands of years ago, before the world as we know it today came to be, there was a war. The High Realm and Under Realm were at odds, and the dispute soon took its effect on the Middle Realm, our world. All the fighting between the powers sent our world spiraling into chaos. Countless lives were taken with no remorse. People everywhere suffered the effects of what would soon come to be known as The Great War. The ones who did survive would pass down the stories of their trauma and agony from generation to generation. 

        One such story takes place when The Great War was at its height, in a small rural town, on an island that doesn't exist anymore. This island was one of the few places that remained untouched by the chaos and destruction of the outside world. In one small village, much like many others across the island, a child had been born to a young family. There was great celebration throughout the village, and the child was admired as the first to be born among the villagers, as all the other people inhabiting the island, had come there in hopes of escaping the war that had come and laid waste their homelands. But there, they were safe, and there, the child was raised, safe and happy, for a few months, before the inevitable came crashing down their door.

        Meanwhile, the Under Realm forces had been suffering great losses, and decided to retreat and regroup.  The king of the Under Realm was leading a small army to secure a base for the Under Realm troops to regroup, and soon discovered the small island on which the villagers lived in peace. It was remote, peaceful, and most importantly, free of any High realm troops.  So, naturally, the Under Realm king did what he does best; kill everyone and take over everything. When the destruction reached the village where the small child lived, his mother did whatever she could to ensure his safety. As they hid in the cellar of their small house, they heard footsteps approaching. Soon enough, the Under Realm king himself was on their doorstep. The mother listened as her husband tried to reason with the king, but he would have none of it.  

      "You are a fine young man." The king said in his raspy voice. "Pledge your allegiance to me, and I might consider sparing your life." 

        "What of my wife and child? Shall you spare them as well?" The young man replied, shaking.

       "Well, my forces still need food, after all." Behind him, the demons of the Under Realm that made up the king's forces chuckled menacingly. "I can only spare one." 

       "Then I gratefully refuse your offer." Said the man, straightening his spine and attempting to look brave.

        "Very well." Without another word, the king drew his blade of shadows and cut the man down. "It's a shame I couldn't keep you alive long enough to watch your house and family burn to the ground." He cackled, and sent a stream of flames to the thatched room, setting the small dwelling on fire. 

       The mother could no longer take it. She rushed out of the cellar. 

            "Wait!" She cried. The demon king turned with a confused expression. "Yes?" He replied. "Have you come to make a plea for your life as well?" 

        "No." She said calmly. "But for my son's. Take him, and do whatever is necessary to protect him. Raise him as your own. Please. Take my soul as payment. I beg of you."

            The demon king was shocked. He had never seen such a selfless act of sacrificing one's own life for that of another. And by a human, no less. Humans had always seemed selfish and concerned only with their own wellbeing and happiness. But here was a mother willing to lay down her life and expose her soul to an eternity of torture to save her son. He looked down at the child, a small blond boy sleeping peacefully through all of this madness, and felt something spark inside of him. 

         "I will take him," A soft voice said. The mother looked up to see not the horrifying demon king, but a handsome young man with jet black hair, kneeling in front of her. "I will transform him into one of my own, and keep him safe from the war and destruction that plagues this place, in exchange for your soul, which will be tortured for eternity. Do you understand the deal you are making?" He asked.

          "Yes. I agree to your terms." The mother said, and kissed her child one last time, before handing him the demon king, who was back to his original form.  She stood, tears streaking her face, and bowed. "Thank you." She whispered. The demon king bowed in return, before turning on his heels without another word, leaving the wounded woman to die with dignity and the knowledge that her precious son would live. 

~

       The young human boy was taken to the Under realm, where the demon king used his powers to transform the young boy, who was soon after named Basal, into a demon. Although Basal had the appearance and powers of someone born into the demon race, one thing remained. All demons had one thing they couldn't change about themselves. All demons had dark, blood red eyes. No matter what form they take (as demons were shapeshifters), no demon could change their eyes. Basal, however, due to his human origins, retained his original eyes color of a bright, emerald green. 

       After Basal's adoption and transformation, the demon king realized that, now that he had a child and a responsibility, this war would have to end. This was not the world he wanted his son growing up in. Soon after, a treaty between the demon king and the leader of the High Realm was forged, and a peace fell over the Middle Realm at last. A peace that would last for thousands of years to come.  

        Soon after The Treaty of Separation was signed and put into action, the demon king and his new son, Basal, retired to the Under Realm's new domain, as agreed upon by the king of the Under Realm and the leader of the High Realm in the aforementioned treaty. it was quite quickly discovered that, although Basal had been transformed into a demon, his human emotions remained very much intact. As there were no other beings around his age in the Under Realm, and the demon guards surrounding his castle did not make very good friends, Basal became quite a lonely child. He taught himself to read the ancient scrolls kept in his father's office. He developed a habit( much against his father's wishes) of talking to the tortured souls in the Under Realm. There weren't many, as Death guards his souls very fiercely, so it was only the very worst of people that resided in the Under Realm. Basal also greatly enjoyed, once he discovered it, music. It came from the Middle Realm, which his father had always insisted was a horrid place, and that he had done Basal a great favor by taking him out of it. The young demon boy dreamed of the day when he would finally be old enough to visit the Middle Realm, and finally see his birthplace for himself.