Dominus: Book 1: Crimson Destiny

Blood Pact

It just took one swipe from his sword to fell the creature that was about to devour him. It was a giant, lizard-like creature with six eyes and its body covered with bone spikes. It looked menacing, and capable of killing him in a single blow.

However, Marcus only had to swing his sword once and the creature got sliced in half with a horrible, ear-piercing shriek. Gust Blade was a technique he had been practicing for months, a refined version of the attack he had used against Red-Eyes. There had been no real reason to use this particular technique, until now. If he had decided to face that monstrous lizard, it would have killed him before he had the chance to draw his sword.

From what he could tell, the moment Marcus arrived, every single creature in the Netherworld no matter its size was after him. Almost as if they could feel the power emanating from the Dominus. He needed to move fast and avoid unnecessary combat. There were bigger threats than the creatures that roamed the Netherworld.

Marcus was actually amazed how the Netherworld was very similar to his own world. There were rolling hills, forests, mountains and rivers. The sky, however, was a completely different story. It was darker shade of blue with a pinkish glow that ran across the horizon. Looking up Marcus discovered something like an aurora, it was beautiful and terrifying at the same time, it ran across the sky like a giant wall of light and had the same glow as the gem of the Dominus.

It was really different from what Marcus had imagined the Netherworld would look like. He had imagined a fiery landscape, filled with demons hovering over a lake of fire, taking shots at the damned. But this place looked more like a paradise than a place for the wicked.

"It is a rare privilege for a living creature to visit the Netherworld," Ansem had told him before Marcus crossed the dimensional rift. "Not many have seen it with their own eyes and remain sane."

This last statement made Marcus a bit uneasy. He was ready to rescue Kali after she had sacrificed herself to save Abigail. But to lose his sanity? Marcus had strong feelings towards Kali and would do anything for her, however, what good would it do if he could no longer be with her?

Going into the Netherworld had sped up the plan he had laid with her. He just wasn't ready yet to face such fearsome and powerful opponents. Marcus realized that kind of thought was similar to running away, and for months he had been training, learning to use his powers and now it was time to put his training to the test.

The only problem was that he didn't know how to travel to the Netherworld. To travel between dimensions what something that had not practiced at all. There was no guarantee that he would end up in the Netherworld. He could end up trapped in some other dimension.

"I can teach you how," Ansem said.

For a moment Marcus thought he was lying, but up to now Ansem had saved Marcus' life two times. Marcus had knowledge no of this world that he was becoming part of. Perhaps he did know to travel to the Netherworld.

Marcus agreed to let Ansem teach him.

It was a rather quick lesson and easier than Marcus had expected. To reach his intended destination he needed an object that would allow him to travel, in this case the Dominus. But he also needed a relic. Which posed an interesting question: what relic did he possess that belonged to Kali?

Then it became suddenly clear. The claymore sword she had bestowed upon him the night they first met.

Marcus summoned his sword . The same one that had taken Alexander and Abigail by surprise. They had never seen someone materialize a weapon out of thin air. The rusty sword Ansem had given him had proved more useful than he had ever thought. Marcus still tried to decipher what the sigil of the Eclipse etched on the hilt meant, but for now he had to focus to transform the sword into the weapon he wanted.