Quick warning: The way Misael becomes a barian aligns with canon fairly close, not with my Start of the Emperors fic.
Misael looked up and saw the shaman who had caused all of this. As he watched, the shaman started to change until he looked something like a demon. No, scratch that, he looked like Satan's dad. The demon held up a glowing red card. If Misael had enough strength he would have made a sarcastic quip. The demon threw the card at Misael and it embedded itself into Misael's left shoulder blade. His eyes dilated then contracted and he screamed in agony. Jinlong glanced up at his master in alarm but was too weak to do anything. The dragon's eyes dulled and drew his last breath. The demon chuckled.
"Don't worry, little dragon. You'll see your master again someday. I can't promise it will be a happy reunion, though." the demon turned his attention back to Misael who's eyes had also dulled and fell limp against his dragon. "Uh, uh, uh! You have to come with me." The demon shot out his hand and the tamer's soul left his body. The demon cradled the golden-haired boy and disappeared through a portal.
…...
Misael blinked and turned his head. He was in a green field. In shock, he recognized the place as a meadow near the village. He bolted upright and looked around. "How... but... I died! Was it just a dream?" he heard laughter behind him. He jumped up and whirled around to see the shaman.
"It's adorable how humans delude themselves to think everything's alright. And I would suggest looking at your hand for proof." Misael reluctantly looked at his hand and would've died of a heart attack if he wasn't already deceased. His hand was glowing slightly and was transparent.
"I'm a ghost..." Misael trailed off. He looked up and glared at the shaman. "Who are you really and why have you brought me here?"
"Permit me to introduce myself. I am Don Thousand. And the reason I have brought you here is making daisy crowns right over there." Don Thousand pointed a gnarled finger at a little girl picking flowers and, yes, making daisy crowns.
"What?" Misael just looked at Don Thousand.
"You know her, even if not by name. She's the daughter of the farmer who led the angry mob against you and the dragon. The other land has allowed them to live in peace here and people are moving on with their lives and repairing the damage done." Don Thousand explained.
"At least they aren't slaves..." Misael sighed in relief.
"I made sure they would be allowed to live in peace and safety. Otherwise I would have to make some serious revisions to my plan." Don Thousand added. Misael stiffened.
"Plan?" Misael growled.
Don Thousand spread his hands wide. "Of course. Which brings me to what I need you to do." a katana appeared in his hands, "I need you to kill that little girl."
Misael choked, "Excuse ME?! No way in hell! I would never harm an innocent child!"
"Her father was the ringleader of the mob."
"She has done NOTHING wrong! I will never touch a hair on her head!" Misael yelled.
"Don't be so sure." Don Thousand smirked and his eyes glinted, "You see, if you don't take this katana and kill her, I will slaughter the entire village including her and leave only two survivors. Then you will get to choose which one will live and which one will die. Call it your second chance if you will. And trust me, I will make sure you know both of them by name."
Misael's eyes widened. "No..."
"Tick tock, tick tock." Don thousand offered Misael the katana. Misael grabbed it and slashed through Don Thousand but it had no effect. "It will only kill the child. Not me. And even though you're a ghost, you will be able to end that girl's life."
"I can't..." Misael stared at the katana.
"If you don't she'll die anyway, along with the rest of the village. So make the smart choice, Misael." Don Thousand reminded him.
Misael, trembling all over, walked over to the little girl who was still singing as she strung the daisies together. Misael shakily raised the blade. "Oh, god. I'm so sorry." Misael lowered his weapon and crouched next to the child. "I have no right at all to take your life, but I must. Forgive me. Please." He knew the girl couldn't hear him. He stood up and lifted the katana. He took another look at the child. She had raven hair and couldn't be more than four years old. Misael drew in a deep breath and brought the blade down on the child's neck. Her lips parted open slightly as her head flew off and blood spilled all over, turning the green grass red.
Misael stared at the girl's body and the blood slowly seeping across the ground. He covered his mouth with one hand. "Oh, god. I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry."
"Good job. That should suffice." Misael heard Don Thousand's voice change into a deep, demonic tone and suddenly he wasn't in the meadow anymore. Misael looked around and saw he was somewhere in the middle of space and there were red lights floating all around. He wondered how he was breathing before remembering he was dead. Great. He just needed that cheery thought so badly right now. Like his life didn't already suck enough.
"Now I can get the more important job over with." Misael looked at Don Thousand, now in his demonic form.
"What was the point of making me kill that child?!" Misael screamed.
"Simple, I needed that cold, killer feeling to be part of your new personality." Don Thousand responded.
Misael felt queasy, "New personality?! What do you mean by that?!"
"I have answered enough of your questions already." Don Thousand wrapped his hand over Misael's head so his mouth was covered. "It is time to begin."
Misael struggled but couldn't break the being's grip. His left shoulder burned and a wave of agony emanated from it. Misael bit his tongue to keep from screaming. His veins twisted and his blood- Misael couldn't bite his tongue anymore and just screamed although it was muffled by Don Thousand's hand. His blood felt like it was liquid fire. His heart, it wasn't beating but it felt like it was turning into rock and being smashed in on itself in the process.
Don Thousand adjusted his grip so Misael's mouth was clamped firmly shut. Misael kicked and lashed out with his fists. It wasn't long before his arms and legs felt like they were twisting, burning, and the bones inside them were rearranging and becoming more dense. As his arms and legs fell limp to his sides, Misael thrashed his head in order to try and loosen Don Thousand's grip. He got his mouth free and opened it to scream again. He heard a sick ripping sound and screamed even louder before closing his mouth to try to ease some of the pain. When he had opened his mouth, some skin was trying to harden over it and he had ripped it apart.
Don Thousand clucked as if to scold him. "That was naughty. You'll only cause yourself more pain by struggling. Just relax and don't move."
But Misael wasn't the type to go easily. He thrashed until Don Thousand held his head so tightly he couldn't move and could only try to move his tongue around and constrict his throat that was trying to fuse with itself. Eventually, he became too tired to fight it anymore and allowed his throat to close off and his tongue to fuse with the roof of his mouth. He resigned to crying as his mouth and lips vanished. He felt the skin on his face start to harden and become mask-like. He was in so much pain he just became numb to it. Misael felt his shoulders lurch up and harden into points.
Just as his face had begun to finish hardening, he felt as if his mind was unraveling. His life played out before his eyes. After a little while, Misael realized that he couldn't remember what came right before the part of his life that he had just seen. He was losing his memories. This was perhaps the most terrifying thing yet. 'NO! I will remember who I am! My name is Misael! I am a dragon tamer! My dragon is Jinlong! I grew up in-' his mind became a total blank at this point and he watched his memory of pain as Don Thousand transformed him, then it was all gone. He blinked. Don Thousand removed his hand from the now-child-barian's head and instead cradled him like a baby. 'I... am Misael. I...'
"You are a barian emperor." Don Thousand said in a commanding voice.
Misael nodded. 'Yes, that feels right.'
"Your only loyalty is to Barian World and the other emperors. You will disdain the humans for their weakness."
Misael found himself agreeing. 'Yes, humans are weak. And stupid. A lower species compared to the barians.'
"You will not remember any of this conversation. You will only remember from when you awaken and on."
'Yes, I will forget all... of... this...' Misael suddenly felt very drowsy and he closed his eyes. Don Thousand smiled at the little barian before hurling him on the ground. The barian child crashed on the floor of a large platform in Barian World with steps leading up to a throne.
"Sleep well, until I bring all of your playmates here as well." with a laugh, Don Thousand vanished, leaving the amnesic child alone on the floor.