A Broken Man

Chapter 25: A little Favor

After walking for a while, the Shadow Lord got to the part of the Nether that barely anyone known about. He brought Gene and Concubine with him, Gene was a bit on edge, he never been here before, Concubine even looked a little nervous.

Gene: " What is the place?"

The Shadow Lord: " The other side of the Nether. Hardly anyone come here."

Gene: " Why?"

The Shadow Lord didn't answer, he just shifted his head, telling the two to follow him. As they continued walking through the new area, everything started to fade into a gray and black color, everything was dying and rotting around them. Gene stepped on a root and it right away turned into dust.

Gene: " What's going on here? Everything is dead and weak."

Gene barely touches part of the wall, it crumbled a bit and some bits turned into dust.

Concubine: " I would be careful where you step, everything is decaying, meaning everything is very sensitive. One wrong move and you'll get caught in a rock fall or fall through the ground."

Gene: " *gulps* Wh-why are we here?"

The Shadow Lord stopped, causing Gene to accidently bump him, he backed up a bit and looked at what his Leader was looking at. In front of them were rocks tangle in dead roots, making a makeshift throne. Sitting on it was a figure wearing a long black coat, it look like there was somekind of scarf or a small cape covering his neck and part of his shoulder. He had long, messy black hair, covering most of his face. He lift his head up a bit, showing his eyes, Gene and even Concubine were unsettled by his appearance. His red eyes were disturbing, seeming like he can see your soul, there was multiple small scars and scraps on his face. He looked down at the Shadow Lord.

The Figure: " You got some nerves coming to this part of the Nether, Shad the Destroyer. I like your new body, sounds about right you'll take one of your strongest dependents bodies for a physical from."

As this unsteadying bean talk, he scratches his face a bit and chew on his finger tips a bit.

The Shadow Lord: " *growls* I don't go by that tittle anymore. I go by the Shadow Lord."

The Figure: " Heh. Shad, Shadow Lord, what's the difference? There better be a reason for someone like you to come to side of the Nether."

The Shadow Lord: " A formal Apprentice of mine stole something valuable towards me. I took his immortality away before he escape, but he's now in the overworld, and before going through the Nether Portal, he caused a cave in and blocked our only exit. Not even any of my strongest followers are able to get rid of all the rubble in front of the Portal. I was wondering if you can disintegrate the rest of the remaining wreckage in the way."

The Figure: " What's in it for me?"

Concubine: " To find the traitor in the Overworld. He stole our darling Lord's Relic."

The Figure: " *scoff* You and your all might army weren't able to stop one paddy thief? That's a laugh. You're getting sloppy, Shad."

The Shadow Lord growled a bit. Gene and Concubine back up a bit. The figure scratched his face again.

Gene's thoughts: " Who is this guy? He's creepy as all Hell and is talking to the Shadow Lord like he isn't the most powerful bean on Earth. Does he have a death wish?"

Concubine's thoughts: " I know he's wants to get to the Overworld as soon as possible to test out his new body and find that spinless Bastard. But is he really this desperate to go up to Ryuk? He's practically the living embodiment of death itself. Yet again, Zane was able to get away from everyone with the Relic and is now curse. That Damn Demon from we gave him make him stronger, but he can't control it. We might still have a chance to control him. But sending Ryuk up? It will make things fast, but won't everything just crumble and die when he around them? He's just as strong as the Shadow Lord, so he might be able to get rid of Zane, alongside with Lord Aphmau. So maybe it will be a good idea."

The Shadow Lord: " Look, the point is, we can't get out of the Nether without the Portal."

Ryuk: "..... Had you'd tried using a Crying Obsidian Eye?"

The Shadow Lord: "... What?"

Ryuk: " You don't know what that is? You been here much longer than me, and you don't know what a Crying Obsidian Eye is? *chuckles* It's a rare crystal that is able to open a portal without using the portal. It works the same as the portal and can use it as many times as you want. Not to mention, you can use it wherever you go and take it wherever since it's attached to a necklace."

Ryuk pulled out a necklace with a bright purple gem on it. The Shadow Lord faced palmed.

Gene: " So that thing is like an Ender Eye or the Nether Portal itself?"

Ryuk: " *shrugs* In a way, I guess."

Concubine: " Well give it to us. We need it."

Ryuk: " Why? What do I get out of this if I help all of you?"

The Shadow Lord: "... Freedom. You and I want the same thing. Freedom from this Hellhole and to take over the world. I will give you a part of the world to control, to show the world how powerful you became and not to be mess with. They would shiver just by hearing your name again, and you'll prove that you are still strong, possibly stronger than you were in the past."

Ryuk: " What percent will I be sharing then? If you want my help, you better be will to give me a good reward in return."

The Shadow Lord: " 30%"

Ryuk had a smile on his face, he was already pretty creepy, but that smile, that smile made him more disturbing.

Ryuk: " *chuckles* This is going to be fun."

Ryuk tossed the necklace over and Gene caught it. The Shadow Lord smile, He held out his cane a bit, Ryuk put gloves on and shook his cane, which was odd for Gene for him to shake like that instead of shaking hands like he dos with the others. But aside from that, the Shadow Lord's plan may be a bit delay, but it was still on. He was going to find and kill both Zane and Aphmau.

The Shadow Lod: " Gather the others. We'll surface the Overworld soon."

Concubine and Gene smile, they nodded as the Shadow Lord headed back to his structure. The two followed, Ryuk stretched out before joining them, his skinny, lanky body was just as disturbing as his face and personality. He walked similar to Concubine but a bit arch over.

Gene: " This guy is creepy as all Hell."

Concubine: " What do you expect? He's pretty much Death himself, and you expect Death to look friendly?"

Gene: " What are you talking about?"

Concubine: " You think that part of the Nether was already dead in the beginning? He did all that with his Magic. He can kill and cause anything to decay he's around, no matter what it is, he can turn it into dust in a heartbeat."

Gene looked over at Ryuk and gulp. Disturb in this magic user's powers and how strong he is.