Prologue

The struggling intakes of air could be distinctly heard- echoing around the unnervingly silent floor.

The group of men were panting erratically, short of breath from the previous exertion of force, of running, of dodging, and failing to hit. They couldn't hit. Their enemy was too fast, too agile, and much too obscured. Their eyes were flying all around hoping to catch of sight of their target; however, not much could be seen as the darkness covered nearly every part of the area. What little visibility was provided by faint rays of light radiating from the wall crystals.

They each could feel their heart about to beat out of their chests. Fear. Anxiety. Nerves about to break from the torturing lack of sound, and their muscles were all tensed, maybe even stiffening slightly from their current lack of movement. They couldn't move. They weren't allowed to. The monster wasn't allowing them to.

A little step or motion without the Boss initiating the attack first would lead to one of their necks being sliced opened. It had already happened.

They weren't ready for this battle.

Not even close.

They didn't even have their strongest group here. They were simply the reserve sent out to scout first and gauge the floor's level.

They didn't expect this.

A brief flash of feral green eyes was all the warning they had before they heard the scream and screech of another fallen comrade. It was at that moment, when they had already known all too well that the monster was just playing with them, taking its time to utterly crush every little part of what makes them them, that they in unison had a resounding thought.

They were all going to die.

From the very start, when they entered the floor, this had been a complete failure of a mission. They should have ran out when they still had the chance. When they first realized that the floor wasn't working with the same process as the previous ones. There were no initial minions to spawn and warm up the battle.

The floor itself had been created solely for one monster. One terrifying Boss monster that was above any they had challenged before.

This was the seventy fifth floor, and the beginning of a whole new set of wars.

They heard a chilling growl in front of them, and the green eyes appeared before what little was left of the group. The wall crystals lit a faint outline of the monster. Its long, bloody claws glinted.

Finally, it seemed the Boss had had enough playtime. It was going to end it.

They could only gulp and pray for their lives.

Just as the monster appeared to be about to move forward, it paused in its movement.

Its green eyes changed from feral to fearful, and they could only watch in disbelief as the Boss's outline swirled around, directing their attention to the slowly but surely brightening glow of orange coming from the exit that led to the next floor below them.

Like the monster before them, nothing could be seen of the new arrival, only the bright orange flame and the dead orange gaze of its holder. They could only hold their breaths as the eyes gave them no attention and focused solely on the now trembling predator. Or, would it be for accurate to call it a prey as it seemed to bow its head in what could only be interpreted as submission and a plea for its life.

A plea that went mercilessly ignored. The orange flame moved too quickly for their eyes to really see and maybe even faster than the monster they had been struggling against for hours.

The merciless flames bursted through the Boss's faint outline and what they could have only guessed to be the monster's heart.

The darkness that was once surrounding them disappeared and a bright beam of light lit up the entire area.

Words wrote themselves in the air above them. It read, "Floor Cleared."

They were too relieved, too ecstatic. They were alive! They only managed a glimpse of what resembled to be a human male with a orange flame dancing vibrantly on his head- their savior!- before he disappeared, calmly walking forward and up the stairs to the next floor. Number seventy four.

They had failed to notice that not once did their savior ever look at them. They didn't care too much about that fact anyhow.

They would now live to see the next day.

o-o-o-o-o

"Hey, did you hear?"

"About what?"

The next few weeks after what had been dubbed as Behemoth incident where a scouting party had been sent in unprepared for what would come to be the known as the Median floors, a rumor had begun to circulate amongst the public of the Mafia continent.

"Apparently, the Lord of the Vongola dungeon has risen from his rest and has ascended from the two hundredth floor."

It was about orange flames that glowed brighter than any seen before. Maybe even at a higher purity than that of the Primo Vongola himself.

"No way! Isn't that really bad?"

It was about the heroic deed the Lord of the Dungeon had done, saving the scouting party from their demise.

"Nobody knows where he went. After two more sightings of him on the higher floors nearer to the entrance, they say he seemed to have disappeared."

It was about the start of a new era.

o-o-o-o-o

Four years later.

On the outskirts of Namimori, a small village currently under the rule of Vongola, there was a small quaint cabin grounded close to a running river.

A small statured male could be seen outside his house, an ax in hand and his eyes focused upon a log sitting on the trunk in front of him. His caramel shaded eyes stared almost contemplatively at the wood before he shook his head and swung the ax with practiced ease.

Another male, taller and bigger built, sat on the porch of the cabin. His body was laying against the railing, his arms behind his head. A small smile adorned his face as he watched the two siblings beside him bicker childishly over the bread he had brought over.

"Yah! Brother, stop it! This is for Tsuna."

"Ah, come on Kyoko! Just a bite! I'm extremely hungry!"

The girl only frowned more, placing her hands on her hips.

"Tsuna hasn't eaten at all today." She explained in a scolding manner.

The taller male laughed as Ryohei the older and much bigger brother gave his little sister a kicked puppy look.

Kyoko sighed in resignation and, with slight hesitation, handed him a piece of bread.

"Extreme!" He yelled and fist punched the air. Kyoko allowed a small smile to form on her lips. She turned towards him and smiled brighter and in a way that seemed to match perfectly with her attributed sun flame.

"Thank you, Yamamoto, for bringing this over. Tsuna's always so absentminded when it comes to his own health."

Yamamoto smiled widely in return.

"What are friends for?"

He moved his gaze from the once more bickering siblings, this time over the fresh-picked berries Kyoko herself had brought, and towards the silent male systematically chopping wood. He could faintly see a small smile on the quiet male's face, and he knew that Tsuna was also listening to the noisy duo.

He was profusely enjoying the current atmosphere. As much as he enjoyed the thrill of battle and the burn of pushing his limits, he loved these kind of moments the best. They seemed to be what made him feel most at peace, and also what made him feel the closest to his Rain flame. They seemed to resonate together and bring him a surreal calmness.

He hoped days like this would last forever.

o-o-o-o-o

Meanwhile...

A man in a black suit and fedora with a yellow pacifier stood resolutely at the entrance of Namimori village.

His presence could only be described as foreboding.

To be continued.