Disclaimer: I don't own VK.

It wasn't painful - her death that is.

Or if it had been, she didn't have the time to process it with how quickly her neck snapped under the force of gravity pulled into play by the heavy push of her rightfully estranged - and terribly vengeful - father who came demanding the return of his youngest daughter.

The likes of which had been taken out of his care for all the right reasons and placed into her emancipated half sister's.

Altas' dying thought was both black in rage and washed pure white in relief that this pathetic fuck wouldn't be able to get to Sana - after all the girl was tucked up safe with the ever kind Santiago's and their multitudes of trained hunting dogs who wouldn't hesitate to rip apart a threat.

The girl considered it a small mercy from whatever sat in the heavens that she went out one-upping that piece of shit - it was only fair, especially since it would be the first and only time in her short nineteen years of life.

And so she had died and everything went quiet and maudlin.

Quiet.

A gasp - a shriek and then -

Q-u-i-e-t.

And so she stayed like that - as she fell into the abyss.

She stayed like that - silent and screaming at all times - as the abyss fell into her.

No one told her the dark could be so violent.

She wished they had.

Her soul shuddered.

It was so silent.

Her soul shuddered.

The cold - the cold! It was so unbearable.

Her soul shuddered.

It ate at her - bleak and sullen! Lord! Why did she have to suffer?

Her soul shuddered.

And so she cried.

And cried.

And cried.

And cried

- And her shuddering soul wept with her -

She was so tired -

Consciousness fluttered shyly against the edges of her mind, like a lover, as fatigue clawed angrily at her insides and she - who? She who? - fell under.

- so very tired.

Then sleep.

She couldn't.

Who am I?

Who was wailing?

Where am I?

Why was there weeping?

What am I?

Enough please - please. No more. No more.

Please - give me an answer.

Awareness it seemed, hit her like a freight train.

It was jarring, she thought, for one second to not know a thing and in the next, to suddenly resume the knowledgeable guise of Atlas the girl again.

Took you long enough.

It was odd, Atlas discovered, existing with no physical body to speak of.

There was a strange sense of self despite being one with the endless black around her and it felt like how she imagined omnipotence to be.

To be one and to be all.

To know nothing and yet everything.

She liked it.

She hated it.

She wasn't sure what she felt.

Liar liar pants on fire.

She hoped the people she left behind weren't suffering, that they were fine and moving on.

It wouldn't be fair otherwise - after all.

Wasn't she doing enough of that for everyone?

You think you're suffering?

If I'm not then what is this?

You tell me.

A punishment.

For what?

For daring to fight back.

Why would anyone give you grief for that?

And as the fifth commandment decreed; honor thy mother and thy father - no matter what they do.

She wondered if this was supposed to be hell.

Despite the absence of burning flames and devils, it could still very be that - seeing as how Atlas had always thought the nine circles would be specific to each person.

It would be the perfect fuckin penitence - to have their own personal purgatory.

Being alone? Is that what you're the most scared of?

If so there's no need - considering I'm here with you.

It was almost comforting, to be so sure of where she was.

Almost.

Almost.

But - b u t -

She didn't deserve hell.

Fury raced through her like liquid flames and she screamed out her rage.

She didn't fucking deserve hell and she didn't deserve punishment and she wanted out - out - o u t.

Someone laughed.

If that's how you feel then you have two options - either this isn't the devil's domain or you've committed sins most grievous.

Which is it?

Eventually, she calmed.

Eventually.

Eventually.

I'm bored.

She paused.

She blinked.

She choked.

Didn't you hear me? I'm bored.

Atlas screamed.

Why are you so scared?

She ignored it - that voice she had thought to be her conscience but it couldn't be because how did it have independence from her? - and pulled herself closer together.

Why are you shutting me out? Tell me! Why are you so scared?!

There was only silence now.

There was only silence and she was so lonely.

Are you there?

There was no reply.

It didn't take long for lethargy to creep up in the painful quiet and coddle her.

But it was frightening - even more so than a voice that possibly wasn't hers.

She drifted.

She drifted and dreamed of blood and teeth and power beyond her comprehension.

It was madness.

Pure and utter.

And she was ashamed to admit that she liked it.

Hey.

Someone was calling to her.

Hey, wake up asshole.

Someone was calling and she had to answer.

I'm back.

Snapping awake with a gasp, she coiled herself tightly together and shivered inside the void.

And the void shivered inside her.

Finally - this time took longer than the last.

You're back.

Looks like it, you called me here.

Why did you leave?

You made me.

Don't leave again.

It's your show, your rules.

So there was a voice she was hearing, most definitely separate from her own despite how she tried to rationalize it - but she couldn't be going crazy. Not so soon.

But - the question begged.

How long had she been here?

If you have to debate about it then maybe you're already insane.

And how long would she have to suffer that? Or did she even have a choice?

She couldn't deny it - there was a voice and she couldn't quite decide if it was something of hers or something both foreign and intrusive.

Can't I be both? Maybe death changed you and I'm how you cope?

Why try to explain your existence?

Why question it? I'm not doing you any harm. Besides, I'm all you have right?

She paused.

Right?

You're a construction.

What?

You're a construction. One I created to be my complimentary piece so I don't forget.

A pause.

So you don't forget what?

Myself.

She didn't suit a name anymore.

She still knew what it was of course but "Atlas" was dead and with her, went the title.

Besides, one only needed a name to be addressed and there was no one here to do that.

I'm here.

But you don't count.

And why not?

Because you also once named Altas, she remarked irritatedly, it's redundant.

If I ask you to, will you always be here to help me keep me?

Isn't that what you created me for?

Is it?

You tell me.

It is.

Then I'll always be here, even when you think I'm not.

The void was collapsing.

The void was collapsing and she didn't know what to do.

Panic clawed at her eyes.

Can you fix it?

Can you?

She didn't know she that she was so capable of feeling pain but when the screaming started, she was proven wrong.

So very fucking wrong.

-!

-ear me!

C- yo- -ar me!

She fell under.

Someone was crying.

Someone was crying and as the sick feeling of her stomach dropping stole her breath, she realized it was her.

Confusion and fear gripping her hard in its fierce grip, she gave a hiccuping wail as soon as her internal equilibrium righted itself and she almost lost herself under the barrage of physical sensation.

There was cold wind against her skin, something soft wrapped around her body, and a hand at her forehead.

She shivered.

This was not the void - because what looked back at her as she opened her eyes was a gaze of brown and blue and the girl once known at Atlas knew something had gone terribly wrong.

"Sekai wa anata o kangei suru," The man purred something dark and terrible. "Akasha."*

The world welcomes you, Akasha.

Heyy guys. Guess who sucks for totally having to rewrite this story because if I didn't I would have had to delete it?

I'm still gonna keep those chapters but there's gonna be more backstory. I'm gonna write out Akasha growing up from infancy with Rido as her father because that makes it easier to flesh out her character. The next chapter should be up by today or tmr. I'm gonna try to have this back where it was ASAP.

No more rewrites I promise lol. I like this intro better ngl.