Opening my eyes I find myself in a familiar place, a place that has always haunted my dreams. The endless void. Though this time it feels different.
In my dreams, whenever I'm in the void, I have no control. I act and talk on autopilot. But now.... I feel free. This time I'm not just observing, I have control.
Why am I here?
The last thing I remember before waking up here is watching my own blood flood the cold and wet concrete after Chiaki and I got hit by that bus.....Chiaki....
The possibility of Chiaki surviving getting hit is extremely small, but it's still a possibility. I hate to admit it but, no matter how annoying Chiaki is, he still family and I care for him deeply. So I'd like to leave wherever I am and see if he's okay.
Of course, although I have control, my dream is pretty accurate to how I would act.
Walking around the void for about an hour two I'm unable to find anything or anybody. Just like my dream.
Finally I see a familiar sight. A bright red object far in the distance. From my memories I can assume it's the big red gate my dream always ends at.
Reaching the object, my assumption is confirmed. Although this time the gate is slightly more omminating, it is the same as it is in my dreams. Should I open it?
In my dreams, every time I attempted to open the door I would be stabbed. As it seems, It's either I open this door or I stay in the void. Both sound like nonideal options, but the door could be my only way out.
I slowly place my hand on door's bright golden decorative door knob. The doorknobs warm, completely polar to the overwhelming coldness of the void. Turning the knob slowly I prepare myself.
... *creek*
To my surprise the door opens an inch and I don't feel anything pierce my back. As I slowly keep opening the door, the cold void slowly starts to warm. Once the door is fully open I'm met with a fiery landscape with a large crater in the middle
As I walk through the doorway into the fiery landscape my whole body Is bombarded with the heat of the landscape and all the cold emptiness from the void is extinguished. The magma like ground is extremely hot. It feels almost as if I'm walking on burning coals, yet I feel no pain. Just the heat.
Curios, I walk to over to the crevice while almost being scorched by a flame exploding from the ground. Once at the crevice I look down and see a pool of scolding hot lava at the bottom which is at least a mile down. Yet it feels bottomless. Like there is no end.
As I'm looking down into the crevice I feel a tap on my shoulder. Feeling the extreme heat coming from the touch I turn around and am met face to face with an emotionless older woman who about 183 centimeters tall, about 3 centimeters taller than me, and probably in her late thirties. she has tanish skin, long red hair, crimson eyes, and is wearing a red and black pant suit with a pair of glasses. The Older woman also is quite "mature" in certain areas. Young men everywhere would love to talk to such a beauty.
Looking away from my face and to her clipboard she speaks up
"Are you Makoto Noir?"
"....Yes, Why do you ask?"
"You're late"
"Late?"
Instead of giving me an answer, she roughly pushes me into the fiery crevice. As I fall deep into the pit, the mild heat that once covered my body increases tenfold. While falling, I look at the walls of the hole and I see a plurality of gates similar to the gate that led me here. Possibly there are other people beside me behind those doors.
Reaching the bottom of the pit, I sink into the pool of lava. While in the lava I feel no pain, but I can still feel the extreme heat. It's a strange feeling. I sink deeper and deeper into the lava and then I fall into, what seems to be, a.... waiting room?
....What even going on?
The waiting room is quite small. The first thing I notice is the extremely long line of people that extends out of the waiting room beginning in front of a gold and red door labeled "King Satan". Before I can excess the rest of the room I feel a familiar hot tap on my shoulder. Reacting to the tap I turn around and see the emotionless woman who pushed me into the pit.
"Follow me"
The woman begins walking to the door. Feeling as though I have no clue to what's going on, I follow her. The woman opens the door for me and I walk inside. The room is an extremely fancy office with what seems to be an endless ceiling. The reason for the endless ceiling is possibly the filing cabinets that goes infinitely upwards. A large black desk with gold decorations adorns the center of the room. Behind the desk is a tremendously large chair facing towards a window. Outside the window is a large city made of fire, lava, and magma. It is an extremely hellish sight.
The woman, who is now currently standing next to the huge chair, motions for me two sit in the chair in front of the desk.
Sitting down in the chair, the chair that was once facing the hellish landscape turns towards me. The person occupying the chair was a large muscular man who was about 244 centimeters tall adorning a red suit with gold linings and couplings. The man has the face of someone in their 40's with a short black beard and red eyes with a splash of gold. He has a sharp, yet has a calming expression on his face.
"You must be Mokoto Noir, Am I correct"
"Indeed you are"
"Great! I'm pleased to make your acquaintance Makoto, you may call me lucifer, but I'm more commonly known as the Devil." Lucifer puts his hand out for a hand shake and I proceed by shaking his hand "We were expecting you a bit earlier, but It isn't a big deal, I'll just have to change a few things around in my schedule."
The man's voice is extremely rough and rowdy. He gives off a friendly yet overpowering atmosphere.
"If you wouldn't mind me asking Mr. lucifer, where exactly am I?"
"Well if it isn't obvious, you're in hell!"
"Hell...." I've never use too believed in things like heaven and hell, I always thought they were things made up to keep people controlled, but I suppose I can't deny Its existence now.
"Yep! H E double Hockey sticks! Right after your death by that bus you were sent right to your hellish prison."
So that room was my prison cell here in hell? So all those other doors I saw led to other peoples cells. It's strange how mine was empty, I would have expected some kind of mental torture purgatory. Maybe they didn't do that due to me having to come to this "appointment".
"Why was I sent to hell?"
"Oh now, don't act modest! Lilith would you mind grabbing me his file"
The woman, lilith, sprouts long, menacing, black wings and flies up the cabinets. Not even a minute later she returns with a file labeled with my name. Lucifer opens the file and starts to read through it
"Lest see.... You've hospitalized over seventeen people and have killed..." Lucifer keeps reading " around five other humans, so I believe it quite fitting that you were meant to come here"
"..."
Ah yes I did do those things. Back when I was alive, I used to get paid for doing jobs for the Akuma No Inu, a small time gang in Osaka. A lot of the jobs involved quieting people who could cause a risk to the gang, I was payed a good amount for it. The only times I've killed somebody not for the Akuma no imu was when that one guy was bullying Chiaki and that other time when Sakata was being harassed and stalked by her coworker. I only worked for the Akuma No Inu to help pay the bills for my mother. I didn't believe it right for her to do all the work alone. The gang was the quickest and most efficient way to make quick money.
"I see.... So I'm guessing you want something of me if you let me out of my cell?
"Ah! How perspective! Indeed you are correct"
"May I ask what you need of me?"
"First let me give you an explanation of how things work around here" Getting up from his chair he walks over to his window and stares at the fiery city. "Here In hell to become a demon you have to devote your soul to me. There are many classes of demons. The first and lowest of the demons are the lowlife demons, These demons are the weakest and typically used as soldiers, manual labours, or prostitutes. The second type of demon are the intermediate demons. These demons are used as soldiers, merchants, or spies. Noble demons usually have the birth stats or skills to act as generals and entrepreneurs. Demon Lords are the highest rank a demon could be. They are sent to the many worlds to establish a demon empire."
"Other worlds?"
"Yes, other worlds. We send demons to other worlds so that I can have a link to that world which makes it easier to claim the souls of the wicked, but the major reason is because of my hate for God" Feeling disgusted from even saying the word he spits on the floor as if spitting on God himself.
"So how does this have anything to do with me?"
'Well recently I've had a demon lord who has cut off contact with hell and is trying to completely invade their world"
"I see.... If they completely invade the world and kill the inhabitants that means you get less soles to collect"
"You're correct, yet again!"
"So you want me to fix this problem, don't you?"
"Exactly"
"Why me?"
"Well, unlike God who can send anybody he wants to any world at anytime, I could only send someone, that isn't a demon, to another world every five thousand years." He turns away from the window and stares at me "Also, from what I can tell, you are the most likely to get this job done for me. You're someone that is level headed and will get his hands dirty. I also know you have no ulterior motive or drive for anything that could make you betray me."
"If I refuse?"
"Then you'll be locked in your cell for eternity"
"I guess I have no other choice but to accept"
"Perfect! Lilith grab the skill book!"
"Yes master"
At Lucifer's command Lilith flies off in search for the book
"Skill book?"
"The skill book is a book that'll give a you a strong demonic skill depending on which best fits you. I can't just send you to another world without giving you a strong skill, Now can I?"
"What are demonic skills?"
"They're skills that are usually condemned by god and his believers because they said to be gifted by the devil, not many people are given a demonic skill from me"
Returning, Lilith hands me an old book with a disturbing skin cover
I open the book and a bright red light blinds me and I feel a strong tingly sensation in my body. Once the flash dissipates I see the pages in the book are blank.
{Skill Acquired: Soul Eater}
{Title Acquired: Devil's Blessed}
"You should have gotten a skill. If you say [Open Stats] in your head it should open in front of your eyes."
[Open Stats]
As soon as I think for my stats to open a little menu shows up in front of me
Name: Makoto Nori
Age: 16
Race: Human
Occupation: None
----------Stats-------------
HP: 10 Strength: 10
Speed: 10 Physical Defense: 10
Luck: 10 Stamina: 20
Magic:5 Magic Defense: 5
Accuracy: 10 Magic Power: 5
--------Mental Stats------
Intelligence: A Willpower: S
Sympathy: D Morality: D
Teamwork: C Charisma: B
---------Equipment--------
Weapon - None
Armour- None
Clothing - Atarashiki Bo Male Uniform (New)
Accessory - None
------------Skills-------------
[Soul Eater Lv. 1]
------------Titles-------------
[Devil's Blessed]
"If you think Open then the skill or titles name it'll give you a brief description of the effects of that skill slash title"
[Open Skill: Soul Eater Lv. 1]
Per Lucifers request I open soul eater and a little screen pops up
{Skill: Soul Eater - When killing any entity, if you activate this skill, you will take half of the person's soul, one-fourth of the the entity's stats ,and all their skills. When consuming one-fourth an entity's soul their consciousness and their memories will proceed to heaven or hell. To proceed to the next level you must consume 300 souls - Progress 0/300}
Wow, If I had to be honest, this skill is definitely a cheat. If any gamer saw me with this skill they would surely be pissed
[Open Title: Devil's Blessed]
{Title: Devil's Blessed - You have been blessed by the devil himself with a skill and/or item. You now will do 5% more damage to followers of god, but your level is unable to increase and upon entering any holy land your health will decrease by 25%}
This title could be dangerous when fighting on holy land, yet I bet most of the world's population will be followers of god and this title could be a huge advantage. Still not being able to level up? That's a harsh negative.
"So what skill did you receive?"
"You can't see?"
"I could, but I prefer surprises"
"I received the Soul Eater skill"
Once I said that Lucifer's face Instantly froze. Is it a bad skill? It seemed good....
"Did you say Soul Eater?"
I nod and Lucifer's face goes from a face of disbelief to pure joy
"Wow! That's great! Such skill as that should surely help you survive in the other world. You're the third of the many I've sent to another world who have received this skill."
"That rare....."
"This skill could surely give you the ability to achieve greatness! Hopefully you'll turn out better than the rest."
"The rest?"
"Oh, um... from what I remember the other two with this skill couldn't contain the power and stay sane from the negative effects of the skill"
"Negative Effects?"
"You'll find out soon enough..."
I'd rather find out now....
"Alright! Now that you have gotten a skill you shall be sent to Statera"
"Statera?"
"It's the name of the other world you'll be sent to" With that Lucifer turns to Lilith "Now lilith would you be a dear and go get the next appointment"
"Yes master"
Lilith Bows and leaves the room
"Makoto, you know your mission correct?"
"Yes"
"Alright then! I shall send you straight away then"
Lucifer closes his eyes and long black wings sprout from his back. Opening his eyes they start to shine bright red and his pupils are replaced with a pentagram.
"[▉▊▉▋▌▍▉▇▇ █▊▅▀▂▉]"
as Lucifer speaks in a strange language a bright red pentagram appears under my feet.
As the red light evelops my body everything goes dark.
***
I open my eyes and a bright light blinds me. Adjusting to the light I see that it was the sun shining through trees of green. Getting up off the dirty ground I dust off my my school cloths, which I suppose I was sent here with. He could have at least given me something to help blend in with.
Looking around at my surroundings I find myself in a forest. The forest was bustling with prospering vegetation and the trees were skyscraper tall.
Finding a nearby rock I sit down and go over my stats. While looking over my stats I get an Idea.
[Open Map]
To my suprise, an actual map appears before my eyes with a little note saying "an extra little gift for you - lucifer. Looking over the map It informs me that I'm in the Malalim Forest. Based on the map the forest seems to go on for about 5 miles in every direction. Looking over the map a little more I see there is a small village about a mile away from me in the forest. The village is labeled on the map as the "Mosey Village"
Deciding the Mossy Village was the best place to venture to, considering I might need shelter soon, I begin my journey to the Mosey Village.
10 minutes into my walk there I hear a rustling sound come from a nearby bush. Fearing it could be a dangerous animal I prepare to defend myself. To my surprise a little rabbit runs out of the bush so I calm down.
The little white rabbit hops over to me and starts sniffing around my shoe. Ignoring the rabbit I continue to walk towards the village. As I pass the rabbit it jumps back in front of me and starts to grow in size. As the rabbit gets bigger, the, use to be tiny, limbs of the rabbit start to get bulky and it's teeth begin to sharpen while it's face morphs into something extremely menacing.
Done Growing ,the rabbit is now about the height of my waist. With bloodthirsty eyes, the rabbit lunges at me. In attempt to dodge the Rabbit, I sidestep to the side and the rabbit barely grazes my chest with its razor sharp claws. Bleeding from my chest, I look for a weapon. While looking for a weapon the rabbit, yet again, lunges at me. Before the rabbit can reach me I grab a nearby rock and smash the rabbit in the side of the head. The rabbit, hit by my blow, goes flying into a nearby tree. Sadly the rabbit gets up quickly with only a minor cut on his head.
{HP - 7/10}
"This could get bad..."
Knowing I can't win with strait on physical attacks I try to formulate a new plan. Noticing a particularly sharp branch on a tree I come up with an idea.
While I was formulating my plan, the rabbit launches himself at me once again. Because I wasn't paying attention the rabbit gets a solid bite on my left shoulder and uses its teeth to latch himself onto me.
{HP - 6/10}
Trying to shake the rabbit of me I persistently pummel my body rock into its face. Eventually the rabbit lets me go. Once free I run away from the rabbit yet again.
While running away I get cornered in front of a tree, Feeling like he had the upper hand, the rabbit arrogantly leaps at me. Seeing the rabbit coming to attack I dodge and watch as the rabbit jumps into the sharp branch on the tree. The rabbit then gets pierced all the way through his gut.
Because jumping into the branch wasn't enough to kill him, the rabbit is still alive. Luckily, because the rabbit has a branch pierced all the way through his gut and doesn't have any hands to free himself, he is stuck.
Taking my bloody rock I walk over to the rabbit and repeatedly bash it in the head with the rock. Each time I hit him I activate Soul Eater in case he dies. As I repeatedly hit him blood drenches the once white rabbits fur into dark red color and blood splashes in every direction even onto my body and face. As a deep cleft starts to form on the rabbits head it finally dies.
{Enemy Defeated: Buff White Rabbit Lv 1}
{HP + 10 Strength +7 Speed +10 Physical Defence +1 Luck +2 Stamina +10 Accuracy+3}
{Skill Acquired: Sharp Claws}
{Skill Acquired: High Jump}
Sitting down I wipe the rabbits blood off my face with my shirt sleeve. Since I'll need a minute to catch my breath I decide to look at my new skills.
[Open Skill: Sharp Claws]
{Skill: Sharp Claws - With this skill you have the ability to grow 3 inch long, razor sharp, claws. These claws do 10% more of your strength for damage when used. To proceed to the next level of this skill you must successfully damage 50 enemies with your claws - Progress 0/50.}
Now with my strength raised to 17 and with 10% bonus when attacking with Sharp Claws, I could probably two shot another Buff White Rabbit if it has similar stats to the one I just killed. This Soul Eater skill is quite strong, isn't it?
[Open Skill: High Jump]
{Skill: High Jump - When activated, your jumps are 50% higher. Tp proceed to the next level you must avoid 20 attacks with a jump-Progress 0/20 and you must Successfully jump from one object to another that is at least 3 feet away, 70 times - Progress 0/70}
To test out High Jump I jump without it. When I jump without it I rise at least 2 feet in the air.
[Activate: High Jump]
When I jump with High Jump I rise slightly higher than with my normal jump. Even though it's only a little difference it could be decisive thing when in combat. It would certainly save my feet from getting lopped off when dodging.
Before departing I take the rabbits lifeless body. Since I killed it I might has well not waste its body and use it for food and fur.
Wanting to get done with one of the requirements for High Jump, I decide to use the trees instead of walking. I climb up the nearest tree and jump to my first another. When I land on the other tree I almost lose my balance and fall. Lucky, I grab a nearby branch to keep me up.
[High Jump level up Requirement: Successfully jump from one object to another that is at least 3 feet away, 70 times -Complete]
***
{HP - 10/10}
After 5 minutes have passed I finally complete on of the High Jump requirements. When I first started jumping from tree to tree it was difficult, but now I somewhat have mastered it. The only requirement left for High Jump is to dodge 20 enemies by jumping. Even though this requirement seems easy I would rather not lose a foot, so I'll have to be careful when completing this one.
Finally reaching the village I'm surprised to see that it's completely run down. The village looks like it was raided many years ago. The small village houses looked like medieval cottages from the thirteenth senterie back in my old world. Every one of the village houses are covered in moss, so much so you can barely tell there are houses there at all. While some seem to be intact, others are either completely collapsed or on the verge of collapsing.
To the south end of the village there seems to be a small farm. Even with the farm being abandoned and neglected for possibly years, there is small amounts of a weird, purple, apple like, fruit growing.
On the North end of the village there is a small lake with crystal clear radiant water and an extremely beautiful waterfall. The surroundings of the lake was abundant with pure green grass and beautiful flowers resembling something akin to roses I'll probably take a bath and clean my clothes in there later, I'd rather not walk around covered in blood.
Entering one of the mostly intact houses I'm not surprised to find that everything inside is covered in moss, cobwebs, and dust. The main room it is about the size of 8 tatami mats. The main room seems to have worked as the kitchen, dining room, and laundry area. To my surprise, when checking on the stone oven it's seems intact and likely to be able to still work. Searching through the cabinets I find nothing of real interest, just a bunch of cracked and moldy plates, pans, and eating utensils.
Lucky for me, I do find a washboard. The sheets may be a little rusty, but it's better than nothing.
In the next and last room of the tiny rundown village house, I find a small bedroom with a large bed with two of it's legs broken so it's tilted, three large dressers, and a two skeletons laying in the corner of the room. Checking in the dressers I find an old brown leather vest, tunics, trousers, a black cloak, socks, and underwear. All of which could be cleaned by my newly acquired Washboard.
Finding nothing interesting on or under the bed I walk over to the two skeletons. The one skeleton, laying on top of the other, is holding a small knife in its hand. Because of the skeletons large pronounced jaw bone, tall brown, and thick arm, leg, and finger bones, I'm assuming it is a male. The other skeleton, which is getting laid on, is probably female because of the round and short pelvis. Although all this is just an educated guess.
From the way the skeletons are positioned and the fact the male is holding a small knife, It seems the male was protecting the female but failed, resulting in both their deaths. They possibly could have been lovers, but who can really know for sure.
Taking the knife out of the male skeletons open palm I can see it is slightly rusty. Touching the knife with my finger I get a cut. At least it's still sharp. I put the knife in between my belt and my pants.
Wanting to clean my newly acquired cloths and clean off my cut from the knife so I don't get tetanus, I walk out of the front door of the house.
As soon as I step out of the house an arrow grazes my cheek and gets wedged into the house door. Looking over in the direction the arrow came from, I see a group of at least 10 greasy green goblins smiling wickedly in my direction. The 4 goblins with bows draw there bows, aim at me, and get ready to fire.
"....fuck"
As soon as my breath escaped my lips, the goblins release their arrows with each one of the arrows heading rapidly in my direction.