Nether Sovereign Reborn

"Go home, cursed boy!!!"

Lux lay on the ground, curled up, holding his head tight while the kicks kept coming.

At this point, it had already become a common occurrence for him.

Lux, a 16-year-old sophomore at Cloud Peak Highschool, had it tough.

It all started when he turned 15. A simple cold at first. Then a series of sicknesses struck him. As he recovered from one, he fell into another. His classmates and friends began avoiding him like he was a plague.

Few dared to speak to him.

He became a popular target for bullies, and everyone acted like they didn't see anything.

He went back home with bruises time and time again.

His parents gave up on him after medical reports repeatedly said he had no physical issues.

Time passed and it got worse. Today was one of those days. Except it got worse.

"Hey, cursed dog, get your ass up."

One of the bullies dragged him up by his hair.

"You thought you were something awesome because you're favored by Lady Fedora, huh?"

Lady Fedora — a common face at Cloud Peak Highschool. She held a bit of prestige as a member of the student council. She was also one of the few people who still talked to Lux despite his condition.

"Is that what all this is about? I don't have any romantic interest in her, I swear," Lux said, his face drenched with tears, snot running from his nose.

"Tsk. What a poor, disgusting creature," one of the bullies said, a cruel grin on his face.

"The teachers will start looking for us soon. Remember, there's a headcount every two hours. If they notice we're missing, they'll know something's up," Lux said, his tone tinged with hope.

"I don't think you'll be coming back this time," Davon said.

Davon had short red hair. He came from a prestigious background and was always seen as the perfect match for Lady Fedora. He'd tried courting her several times to no avail. The fact that she seemed to give Lux special attention always irked him.

"We'll throw him off the cliff at the far north. Yes, the same one you're thinking about. The one rumored to have once had a ghost town at the bottom that no one ever returned from," Davon said with a slight chuckle as he looked at his companions' surprised expressions.

"What? Getting cold feet now?" Davon asked, a brow raised in dissatisfaction.

"Not at all!" They exclaimed in unison as one of them lifted Lux over his shoulder.

They made their way through the woods to the dark cliff swiftly.

"Finally, this wilderness experience the academy took us on has aided me. I finally get to remove this thorn from my side," Davon muttered in satisfaction.

They were a group of four: Davon and his three lackeys.

"What are y'all waiting for? Grab him and toss him over the cliff," Davon ordered, irritated by his lackeys' hesitation.

"Uhh… yes." One grabbed Lux's hands. The other two took a leg each.

"We'll toss him on 1… 2… 3—"

At some point, Davon kicked Lux, causing his lackeys to lose balance and fall over the cliff with him.

"Never leave evidence," Davon muttered. Turning around, he returned to camp.

___

"Ronald…"

"Present, ma'am."

"Davon Sungate."

"I'm here, Ms. Fiona."

"Fedora Raizen."

"Present, Ms. Fiona."

"Lux Orcus…"

"Lux Orcus!!" Ms. Fiona, their homeroom teacher and caretaker during the excursion, shouted, her tone flustered.

"We can't see him anywhere around, Ms. Fiona," one of the students shouted from behind.

"We can't see Trevor, James, and Jack either," another student shouted.

Hearing the names of the missing students, Ms. Fiona's expression grew grim. She feared the worst.

Ms. Fiona was aware of Lux being constantly bullied by the trio, and she'd stopped them on several occasions.

"Everyone, make your way to the security checkpoint right now!"

"No one is to leave. You are all to go as a group. Fedora, ask the forest guards for help to comb the entire woods in search of them."

"I'll go look for them right now."

Ms. Fiona threw out instructions in a flurry before turning and heading deeper into the woods.

*_*_

"Where am I? Am I dead?" Lux said as he raised his arms but still couldn't see anything.

All he saw was darkness. He couldn't even make out his hands through it.

"To think a descendant of that line would be treated as such…"

"Should we inform him?"

"If we don't and he finds out, we're as good as dead… not like we aren't dead already, hehe."

Lux felt a shiver run down his spine as he heard the strange dialogue in the dark.

"Just who are they?" Lux muttered under his breath, a cold shiver running down his spine.

After a few minutes of silence, a calm, hazy voice resounded through the darkness.

"An Orcus? Treated as such?"

"You know my family?" Lux asked in a shaky tone after mustering the little courage he had left.

"An Orcus is scared? How disappointing."

"Did you kill the one who did this to you?"

"No, I didn't. I'm not strong enough. And even if I was, his family is a powerhouse. They could wipe me off the face of the earth and no one would even notice," Lux said, his tone more relaxed as he realized the voice didn't seem malicious.

"I'll grant you one wish. Choose wisely," the voice resounded through the darkness.

"Power. I want power. To get back at anyone who looks down on me. Power to obtain whatever I want. Power to trample all those who take me for granted. To destroy those who abandoned me.

I

WANT!

POWEERRRR!!!!!!"

Lux yelled, his voice shaky, his face drenched in tears, his pupils glowing a faint tint of red.

"As expected of an Orcus. But what I don't get is why you have so much power but still don't use it?" The voice resounded through the darkness once again.

"Huh? What power?" Lux asked, stunned by the question.

"I don't have anything. I'm just a weak, abandoned, sickly child," Lux continued, exhaling slightly.

"Eh? Sickly? Have you formed your hell totem?" The voice questioned, surprise lacing its tone.

"Hell totem? What's that?" Lux asked, puzzled.

"Could he be the one?" the voice muttered low.

"You! Come with me," the voice ordered.

A formless force grabbed Lux and dragged him through the darkness.

After an unknown amount of time, Lux could finally make out shapes through the dark.

The force dropped him in front of what seemed to be an abandoned temple.

"You've arrived, young Orcus. You can call me Ladiskha, the last ghost watch of the Orcus line. I served under Orcus the Great, first son of Hades," the voice resounded again. This time Lux could see where it came from.

An old man, seemingly one step from the coffin, stood in front of the temple with a broom in hand.

Seeing Lux's confused expression, the old man smiled and said, "You seem to know nothing about our family, but don't worry. It'll be clear to you in a bit."

"Our? You mean to say you're an Orcus?" Lux asked, unease in his voice.

"No need to be scared, child. Walk with me," the old man said as he turned and walked into the temple.

Lux hesitated before following a few steps behind.

The temple's interior was nothing like the exterior. It was tidy and well-kept, candles lit everywhere, and a symbol at the far end that he couldn't see clearly.

"This way," Ladiskha called out, turning into a dark corridor.

Lux hurried until he was right behind Ladiskha. The darkness gave him a strong sense of unease.

After an unknown period of time, they reached a small chamber with a pool.

The pool was almost full with a dark red liquid that emitted an irritating yet alluring scent.

"What is this?" Lux asked, a bad premonition washing over him.

"Your gut instincts are pretty accurate. This won't be a pleasant experience," Ladiskha said, his lips parting into an evil grin.

A formless force grabbed Lux and tossed him into the pool. A loud sizzling sound rang out as soon as he landed.

"Wish you good luck, chosen lad," Ladiskha muttered before making his way back through the dark corridor.

___

"Any news on the kids' whereabouts?" Ms. Fiona asked. She looked unkempt and exhausted.

It was the second day since the kids went missing, and there had been no traces of them.

"None as of yet, but we did find signs of a scuffle at the dark cliff, and we fear the worst has happened."

Upon hearing this, the color drained from Ms. Fiona's face.

"I'll go down and take a look," she muttered, turning around and leaving.

___

"Arggghhh… my body is being destroyed and rebuilt. It hurts so damn bad," Lux, who was in the pool, finally gained a trace of sanity through the pain and noticed the changes occurring in his body.

His body was being disintegrated — skin, flesh, muscle, even bone and organs. Torn apart and rebuilt, causing an unbearable amount of pain that had made him pass out an uncountable number of times.

After an unbearable amount of time, the pain stopped. Lux woke up to see that the pool was empty.

Only now did Lux realize how deep the pool was. Over a hundred feet deep.

"Hey! Old man! Get me the hell out of here, you cruel, vile, old fogey!" Lux cursed out loud, spewing profanities at Ladiskha, who was nowhere to be seen.

"Alright, I need to find a way out of here," Lux said after a moment of contemplation.

He looked around and noticed rocks protruding from the walls of the pool. But the closest one required him to jump as high as possible.

"Alright, here we go.

3…

2…

1—"

"You might want to take it easy, young lad." At some point, Ladiskha had appeared and was looking down at Lux from the top of the pool.

"I've granted your wish and more," Ladiskha said, his tone calm.

He waved his hand. A grey palm made of unknown energy grabbed Lux, pulling him out of the dry pool.

"Wait… that was… what was that?" Lux stuttered.

"Oh! You can see it now? Then I guess the procedure was a success," Ladiskha said, his lips curling into a smirk.

"Come, punch the wall over here," Ladiskha said, gesturing to the wall of the corridor opposite him.

"Punch the wall? With my fist? What next… headbutt the ground?" Lux said, his irritation evident.

"Oh my, how feisty. If you can't even hit an inanimate object, how do you expect to get back at all those who looked down on you, huh? Tough boy," Ladiskha said in a mocking tone.

Despite the obvious goading, Lux couldn't accept being looked down on by Ladiskha. So he took the bait.

"Step aside, old fogey, and watch this young master punch this wall with no fear at all," Lux scoffed, making his way toward the corridor wall with an obvious slant in his shoulders, perhaps to seem more MANLY.

"Here I go."

_Swoosh, Boom, Rummmbllleee_

"What the damn hell!" Lux screamed, his expression a mix of shock and terror.

"I… I did that?" Lux asked, shock evident in his voice and face.

"And that, young Orcus, is the difference between a totem bearer and a non-totem bearer," Ladiskha said, a proud expression on his face.

"Who's a totem bearer?" Lux asked, curiosity teeming in his expression.

"It's not my duty to tell you. All you need to know is that you are now strong enough to have your revenge. So off you go. Take a shower and change into fresh clothes. Your time here has almost come to an end. If you stay here too long, you won't be able to leave," Ladiskha said, his tone calm as he gestured to the room behind the broken wall.

Inside was a bathtub already filled with hot water and a pair of black pants and a white shirt.

"Alright," Lux said before walking into the room.

___

"This place looks scary," Ms. Fiona muttered, staring at the entrance of the dark valley.

Clasping her hands together, Ms. Fiona muttered a short prayer. "I'll come out safely… Amen."

___

"Oiii! Orcus boy… good, you're dressed. Your time here has come to an end. If fate allows, we will meet again in the future," Ladiskha said, not giving Lux a chance to comment.

He waved his hand, causing the stunned Lux to vanish from his position.

"Young Orcus… are you the one?"

___

"I'll step in, in three… two… whaaa!" Ms. Fiona screamed at the sight of Lux, whose hair was still dripping wet.

Lux, having not noticed Ms. Fiona, had a dark expression. "You damn old fogey, just wait. I'll be back for you someday, just you wait… ahhh!" Lux, who was on the verge of cursing eighteen generations of Ladiskha's ancestors, was frightened at the sight of Ms. Fiona looking at him with a stunned expression.

"Uhh… Ms. Fiona… hehe…" Lux said, scratching the back of his head as he chuckled nervously.

"Young man, you have a lot of explaining to do!!!!"