Chapter 4: A Soul Torn Apart and Remade

A writhing white bug with long pincers dug right through his eye and entered.

Your heart is clear, with no hint of a Reason. Go, and find yourself in this Vortex World!

"You had better be joking, this hat does not make me look like a weirdo," Isamu said in mock anger. He shifted the hat around, checking the mirror on the store wall while Naoki tossed around a goofier looking hat. "They call it jaunty, right? It'd make me look cooler." It was certainly his favorite hat as he wore it all the time afterwards.

You poor human; my master has seen it fit to give you a gift.

"Right, I knew that," his father said, exchanging the baking soda for the baking powder. Naoki smiled and shook his head. "Hey, it's been a while since I baked anything. But we'll get it right together; your mother will be really happy with this, I'm sure."

"Fudge can't be simple, it's like magic," his cousin said, her small hands on the bar while she looked at the candy store's display. Maybe he should make a small batch with her, if his aunt approved.

Marogareh, Marogareh, Marogareh.

The lights flickered, making that peach wallpaper of his uncle's house look even odder. "There might be so much water in the streets that we'll have to swim to school," Naoki joked to make this typhoon less scary. It was the kind of responsibility that he had in being the oldest kid of this family; he never minded that he didn't have younger siblings because he had his cousins. "Maybe we'll even run into a mythical sea creature, like the king of all manta rays."

You who have been chosen, show me the state of your heart.

"That's can't be right," Naoki said, smiling it off. But when the Tarot cards were drawn again, they were the exact same set. They suggested that he could have a future as a respected general.

A squelch and a scream; something had died when he fell from that bright light to this abyssal dark.

In the wonderful atmosphere of this festival, it didn't matter much what prize he got as he had triumphed in this difficult game. He might be the happiest kid here. Even his parents were happy for him. "Maybe we'll get some sweet dumplings after all to celebrate," his mother said, smiling bright.

The old woman was hard to know with her black veil and long dress. But the blond child in the suit, his eyes pierced souls. In meeting those eyes, it was clear that the body was nothing but a mask for an exceptional soul.

They made it all the way to the beach! Naoki laughed in triumph, letting go of his bike's handle for a moment to give a high five to Isamu. They were now hot and sweaty from the effort, but who cared? They could buy some drinks here, maybe some ice cream. But, maybe they'd just catch the train back home.

He wanted to dig into his skull and get this thing out, whatever was eating at him inside. But in this agony, he couldn't move his body how he wanted. Who could call this a gift? Marogareh, Marogareh.

"Well it's nothing much to us, but I guess I could tell you about it," Chiaki said, easing up now that he was curious about her family's traditions. It bothered Naoki that the others in class were purposely ignoring her out of jealousy. Sure, she didn't have the best attitude. If treated kindly, she might become kind in turn.

The chain link fence seemed like flimsy protection when black lightning tore into the city and everyone died. That's right. Everyone died.

Was he dead?

Marogareh.

"He told me to feel grateful that I was alive and healthy," Naoki said, grief murmuring in his head. There was also admiration and pride in his grandfather's courage when his body had been so weak. And yes, even joy to feel the sun on his face and stand on his own two feet. "I really am; he showed me what a gift life is without intending to. I want to live in a way that would make him proud."

He took a breath of soft air, protected. No, he was alive. Be grateful to be alive. Mellow banana and sweet cream, an ephemeral taste. He curled his tongue, finding nothing there. Confusing, as fermented tofu that smelled repugnant yet tasted so luscious. His heart beat just the same, but something felt wrong. No, maybe not wrong, just different. He was in a cold space… a room of a concrete building in the basement, a faint tinge of disinfecting cleaner everywhere, a few old bloodstains, approximately a cube in shape with metal freezer drawers in two of the walls that held twelve human bodies. Wait, what? His eyes weren't open.

Don't worry, that's normal.

What was normal about this? Tasting things that weren't there, knowing he was in a morgue without opening his eyes… a morgue? Naoki opened his eyes, finding things painfully bright. Dark lines, faint form of a hospital bed (he knew that form from visiting sick relatives in hospitals, it usually wasn't good times). Bitter and unripe fruit, or was it fear? Think, he needed to think and figure out what was going on instead of just feeling. He pulled one knee up and put his arms around it. A soft thin mattress was under him, comfortable without being comforting.

After several minutes of keeping his eyes to a slit, he was able to open them fully and be more aware. And the sight was what he expected; he was sitting on the edge of a patient's bed, up against the wall of a morgue. He didn't know why, but he'd known that. What he hadn't known was how different his body looked. His black capris were still on, but all the rest of his clothes were gone. Even his shoes were missing. That left the bizarre tattoos on his skin highly visible.

Were they tattoos? They covered his body with thick black lines with shimmering blue accents. Circles on his chest, lines straight from his torso down to his ankles, rings and lines around his arms. When he touched them, they were slightly raised but felt like normal skin. There was something else too, something he sensed but didn't see. Naoki rubbed the back of his head and found it on his neck: a large hard horn.

Anticipation for a festival, tears for a funeral, wonder at his aunt's newborn daughter, pain at a demonic parasite piercing right through his eye…

Naoki winced, but realized that he was seeing out of both eyes. The left one did feel tender, where the thing had entered. When he put his hand over that eye, he knew the parasite: a magatama called Marogareh. It transformed his body into that of a demon, although his heart and mind remained that of a human. Although, it was an incomplete transformation in other ways. Marogareh was only one matagama, there were others out there that he should look for. That was his new reality.

It seemed preposterous when he took his hand off. But looking at the shining lights on his hand, he knew it was real. Not only had he witnessed the death of the world, but he had been granted a rebirth of his own. He had no idea why; it was irrefutable fact proven by his new characteristics.

This time, it wasn't one death; it was the death of everyone he knew and didn't know, save Yuko and himself for certain.

As tears came from his eyes, he remembered all kinds of senses… no, he tasted them. Curry cooked with his classmates, fudge that his cousin had wanted to share, a sweet fruit cake for his mother's birthday, toast and eggs his father made for breakfast, all those people gone. He'd never see their faces, talk and laugh with them, never again. There wasn't enough grief for them all, and maybe he was going insane realizing all this because he was thinking about food so much that he tasted it.

It was difficult to tell how long he was in there. There was no clock, he had no watch, and his horn gave him odd properties of time like a moon phase that seemed far too swift. Still, time marched on however it was measured and he was alive. His grief was still there, but he'd find no answers waiting here. Not even solace, given that this was a morgue. Naoki dropped his bare feet to the floor and spent a moment making sure he had his balance. There was still a feeling of being different, but moving around ought to correct that.

When he passed through the door, he felt something from his horn. His vision blurred as he saw without seeing. This was a wide crooked hall in the basement of Shinjuku Medical Center. In many rooms, occult energy saturated the air, like how the room he left behind had a feeling of beginning even though it was meant for ending. Dozens of people had died here in agonizing rituals; someone had invaded this basement violently only to meet with defeat. A few ghosts lingered here; a massive storage of knowledge was kept in a room across the way. That was the room where he'd met the enigmatic man and his demon. A living being was there, but not the same person. The door to the annex basement was still locked and there was something strange about the elevator.

Naoki felt woozy and put his hand on the door frame to steady himself. He'd only just stepped out of this room, how did he know so much about this hall?

Don't worry, it's a sense you have as a demon.

"Don't tell me not to worry, Marogareh," he whispered, his words tasting strange. Had his voice changed? His body had changed, so it might have.

Once the sensation of getting all that information passed, he looked around again. There were bloodstains on the floors and walls. Some boxes on a cart had been cut open with a blade, spilling their contents. It was mostly papers and styrofoam pellets. From that, he could believe terrible and violent things had happened here. He'd already suspected that before meeting with Hikawa and Yuko, given that he'd walked into an operating room with blood on the table and an occult symbol below it.

A faint blue form was ahead, like a person waiting in a corner. According to his horn, that was a ghost of a middle-aged man. Naoki went over, more to see if that was right than anything. His mouth opened to greet the ghost, but he caught a whiff of something off the ghost. Dazed waiting for something that could not be named, knowing that something terrible had happened without knowing what, not having any feelings of grief because they were missing.

"What are you staring at me for?" the ghost asked, acting brusque to cover his uncertainty. "Or have you been living all of your demon life in a cave? I'm a ghost, that's that."

He ran his tongue across his lips, trying to comprehend this new sense. It got in the way of speaking.

The ghost's attitude mellowed, softening his scent and making it nicer. "Or maybe you're just that new. I don't recall anyone like you going into that room recently. Where did you come from?"

Trying to speak of his home address was coming off the train and seeing that house completely smashed to bits. That had never happened physically. In his mind, that information was utterly ruined. Light of the world's rebirth into an abyssal darkness, a child's eyes revealing an ancient soul. "Uh, there," Naoki finally managed to reply, pointing back to the morgue's door.

"I'm sorry for being rude then," the ghost said. "I probably can't help you. But I heard someone new show up at the terminal there, maybe they can help."

Having trouble finding the words to thank him, Naoki nodded and headed to the terminal room. He hesitated briefly outside it, a lemony sourness of recalling his brush with senseless death. But something in him was certain that this was someone else. He put a hand on the door and braced himself in case another deluge of information overcame him.

A man in a brown suit got startled by his entrance, stepping back and putting a hand to his wrist. There was that immense density of information here. Thankfully, it immediately got filtered out as inaccessible by sense alone. Within the dimensions of this room and the presence of electronics, there was that man. He smelled of rich earth, a curiosity quickly overtaking rightful caution, and a strange burdensome obligation. Naoki could only sense the last was there, not was it was about. So many facts without explanations.

"Oh hey, you were that kid I met in the park," he said, gripping his hat with both hands. "Right? Naoki, wasn't it?"

He nodded slowly. "Hijiri," was all he could say.

Hijiri remained cautious for a moment, but then came over to him. "You've changed. What happened to you?"

Closing his eyes, Naoki felt like something was off about Hijiri. Sure, he wasn't like anyone else he'd met. He wasn't a threat and in fact was more concerned about him than wary. And Hijiri too must be trying to find a foothold of sense in absolute tragedy. "I'm not sure."

"Hmm, you seem human enough, and yet..." Naoki opened his eyes and saw Hijiri flipping his hat around while thinking. "We're both okay, so that's good. But seeing you here, as well as this," he turned back to the device, gesturing him to follow. "This is known by several names, most commonly an Amala drum or a terminal. I've seen such a device in the possession of a powerful man named Hikawa. While this script isn't something most people would know, I've known about it for a long time. And from the information here, it's clear what's happened to us: the Conception occurred."

He nodded his head, recalling that Hijiri had meant to come to this hospital as well. He was a reporter for an occult magazine; not that long ago, he'd given Naoki a sample copy. It was in that magazine that he and his friends had first read of this hospital's connection to the occult. That was… a few hours ago? Or longer, depending on how long he was unconscious.

"I remember a bright light, and then I was here in this room," Hijiri said, moving the top part of the terminal some. "That was, some time ago, I've just about cleared my head to investigate. But according to this, the cataclysmic event took place over a month ago, forty days to be exact. That's far more time than I could have been here."

"I..." there was something he wanted to say. "…just woke up, across the hall. There's no sun. Can't measure time the same."

"There wouldn't be," he said. While the vastness of this change still blanked out Naoki's mind, Hijiri tackled it as a riddle to endure that loss. "Tell me, have you run into any others?"

"Hmm?" What did he mean?

Hijiri took a deep breath. "I mean, any demons?"

There was that strange child and the old woman… he felt like he shouldn't say that. "There's a ghost outside," Naoki replied. "I'm… no. Yes, I am. Am a demon. No, it's..."

Don't worry.

"Take it easy, kid," Hijiri said gently, putting a hand on Naoki's shoulder. There was something comforting to his earthy scent, making his eyes water up again. "From the looks of you, you're a demon-human hybrid. It happens on rare occasion, willingly or not. But don't give up on yourself. You should be the one who decides who you are, and you can do that."

"Marogareh," Naoko said as he thought of it. He rubbed his eyes. "It's a magatama, it ate into my head."

Hijiri patted his shoulder before letting go. "Here, sit down for a bit. I know a few little tricks, like this one," he moved his hands like he was picking up something and grasped a can. "I hope you like this."

Accepting it with a nod, Naoki sat down in the office chair that was there. It was the one that Hikawa had been using, but there wasn't another seat. He popped the lid off and smelled it first. Lemon lime soda, the can was cold and moist to his touch. When he took a sip of it, the fizz tickled. It was different from the phantom tastes he'd been having.

Meanwhile, Hijiri had spun a part of the drum a bit, looking for something. "Magatama, then… it's a demonic parasite that gives its host demonic traits. It must have been painful, but all things considered, you're pretty lucky in that Naoki. A parasite might sway your feelings a little, but it will be a weak push compared to what occurs in a full demonic possession. As it is, it shouldn't be difficult to bring the parasite out of your body and revert you back to a normal human. And yet this world is dangerous..." he put a hand to his chin.

He looked up at Hijiri. Having something real to taste, having someone who knew something about what was going on, or maybe just having someone trying to help, it was calming him down. It was definitely good to hear that relatively speaking, his situation wasn't that bad. Naoki wondered what Hijiri was thinking. When he closed his eyes, he felt more of that puzzle solving, turning a problem around in the mind until the solution was clear.

Hijiri turned back to him. "So then, how much do you know about the Conception? Or about the Scriptures of Miroku?"

How did he explain that? He set the can down on the table to move his hands trying to explain. "I only just heard about that book from my teacher, Takao Yuko. And about what the Conception was actually called, that was after we met in the park. But I've been having odd dreams or visions, something, about the world ending just like it did. And… we're now in a world in an egg, right? With a brightness seed of creation Kagutsuchi and demons are free to roam while what humans were chosen seek the seed of a new world. Uh, I thought it was a weird fantasy, you're just the second person I've told, the other being Yuko."

"You've got the concept of it down," he said, impressed at it. "Perhaps you had some inclinations towards supernatural abilities before this."

"i was, mostly normal," he said, not sure that was the right way to say it.

He shrugged at that. "A lot of gifted folks seem normal until their gift begins to show. But yes, as unimaginable as it may be to most people, the world as we knew it has passed away and returned to an egg, as you called it. It is a raw world of potential and there are going to be many demons. It's a dangerous world out there, even to someone like me who has a lot of insider information on the world of the occult.

"When I was your age, I attempted to become a demon summoner. And yes, those did exist in our world too, just hidden for many reasons. I failed at it, but at least it didn't kill me." He started flipping his hat around again. "I investigated demons and the occult as a reporter, but I don't have the ability to deal with demons directly. I won't be able to survive if I left this quiet place.

"On the other hand, your parasite gives you an advantage out there. The demons will likely see you as a peer. Of course, that still means they could attack you. Fighting between demons is as normal as a game of cards between humans. But you will have some power from your magatama to match them, like enhanced physical capabilities or magical spells."

"I know a place just by being there," Naoki said. "There is an immense density of information here because of the terminal, but I can't know it without reading the terminal for myself."

"That's true," Hijiri said. "Knowing your surroundings like instinct would be a great help. Are you willing to fight other demons?"

"I don't like hurting others, but I will if I have to," he said.

"You can't be hesitant around demons, but it would take some getting used to," he said. "How about we strike a deal? I'll tell you what I know, with more coming as I work on decrypting this terminal. You'll need to know things that other demons will take for granted. In exchange, I'd like you to report to me on what you see and experience out in the Vortex World. Research is vital, but so is having a first-hand account of what's actually happening. Plus if I survive long enough to write about this all, you seem like a good person to hear things directly from."

That is a bargain deal; he can offer you so much more than you can offer him.

"All right, I can do that," Naoki said.

What did you tell someone who'd recently woken up as a human-demon hybrid? What might have been an idle consideration at one time was now a serious question with that person listening to him attentively. Hijiri could look over at Naoki and still see the boy he'd run into outside of Yoyogi Park. He could also see a strange demon unlike any he knew about, with an incredible awareness of things. Although, it must be overwhelming from the slowness of his speech and the way he sometimes closed his eyes and still paid attention.

Demon possessions can be harmless to the host, depending on the demon's intentions. I've seen one that was purely beneficial to the human. Parasites are fragmentary beings, but can manipulate their host's behaviors in order to survive. To combine the two… the way it's manifested on his body and in his spirit, it's extremely skillful work. One could call it masterful. The one who could best do this would be… him.

No, getting involved in this could be a terrible idea if he's involved. But then what about the boy? They would tear his heart to pieces and make him believe it's in his best interests. Their master is intelligent and extremely charming. And my duty is only to witness… still, who else is gong to help him? He could use a neutral party to keep his moral compass from getting too skewed.

"Most of what I can tell you about demons is from myth and the knowledge of demon summoners," Hijiri said. Something in his heart told him to be cautious, yet do what he could to help. "Some of it won't apply much to you, but you should still know it. For instance, there is the matter of magatsuhi."

That got the boy's attention. How much did the parasitic magatama know? It wasn't something Hijiri had heard about, but it had a lot of information on the Amala drum. He'd have to look into that later.

"Magatsuhi is a magical energy that comes from human emotions and thoughts. A person's soul is made up of magatsuhi, but a good amount drifts away from a person on a daily basis. It is drawn to places and objects of emotional importance. Basically, anywhere that triggers emotional responses can build up a lot of magatsuhi. This hospital has much of it, I'm sure.

"And magatushi is something that demons cannot live without. In realms that they inhabit, their own emotions are usually enough. But in worlds that have a strong mundane character, such as where we came from, demons cannot manifest without having a store of magatsuhi to sustain them. Demons are incredibly powerful but in mundane situations, they can be quite powerless. You'll never actually see them in that situation because they can't be seen then.

"One things that demon summoners must learn is proper magatsuhi management. A contract between a demon and a summoner involves the human agreeing to give the demon that energy. It is of such importance that demons will agree to do nearly anything in exchange. Of course, there is danger for the human in thinking it is merely that. If a demon can gain a human's soul full of magatsuhi, they can manifest on their own and do as they please."

A glance at Naoki showed that his lips were moving, trying to get out a question. Hijiri waited on him a moment. "Does magatushi have a taste?"

Not having thought of it that way, he tapped his hat against his hand and mentally reviewed case studies. "I would guess it does. Some lesser demons act as though a craving for magatsuhi is a craving for food. Other demons can tell the character of the person they're dealing with by a taste of it."

"Marogareh gives me knowledge and we taste my own magatushi," he said, his eyes closed now.

A demon who could gain enough power to act in a mundane world with their own emotions would be intimidating. They would have no need for a summoner, thus they couldn't be controlled by traditional methods. This kid could be a monster, no, a nightmare. But, he was currently an innocent teenager. Even with demonic knowledge, he wouldn't be aware of his vast capabilities. It was important to help him, and it may be important now to gain trust in him in case he started to go astray.

On the other hand, he is far less likely to go around eating humans. That's still different than what most demonologists know how to deal with. Would he even respond to a traditional summoning?

"That would help give you the ability to face demons on equal footing even if you were born a human," Hijiri said. "There is more to it, but you seem to have an understanding of what it is now. Remember when I asked you about the Scriptures of Miroku? I have only read a few passages myself, but there seems to be an important role that magatsuhi plays in this process. I'll look into it more here; I'm sure I can get a copy of the writings through the terminal.

"Once you feel comfortable in what I can tell you, I think it would be best if you got a grasp on your abilities and new life. You should leave this hospital and travel on your own. That would teach you better than I could. Here, I'll show you how to use these terminal to travel from one to another, should you find one and wish to come back to speak with me. I think I'm safe near the terminals. If I can figure all the symbols out, I can travel to others as well without visiting new ones. It'd simply be easier to identify the home character on a terminal and memorize those."

Even with those goals identified, they talked for a while longer to figure out what Naoki knew and what he should know. He still thought like a human; very few demons showed true curiosity in learning. But a demonic parasite wasn't something Hijiri had ever read about, so it was difficult to say how this would progress.

Find out what you can do by leaving the hospital. It made sense. As he left the terminal room, Naoki knew more about demons than he thought he ever would. He hadn't been studying them seriously, only looking into occult matters on curiosity. But what Hijiri said wasn't enough to know what was going on. He'd confirmed again what he'd been seeing before, but it didn't even touch why this all was happening.

But all of that didn't matter as he walked back to the elevator and realized that the space there was still odd. The door at the other end of the hallway was locked though. Right? He'd only sensed that, but it would be good to check. Something about the elevator made him wary now.

A couple of other ghosts were in the hall; they were distracted and talking about demons. But Naoki hadn't run into any yet, just the ghosts. When he did, he might have to fight them. Even if Hijiri said it was normal, it felt strange to him. He'd spent a bit of time on the wrestling team, but that was all in sport and he'd given it up. From the sound of it, the demons saw fighting as sport too, except one could end up dead.

The door at the end of the hall was different, a heavy steel door made for security. That didn't seem right for a hospital, but neither had the barred door at the other end. There was just the morgue and some operating rooms down here. Maybe it was the occult activities they locked off? At any rate, the door was indeed securely closed. There was a card reader there, but he'd put the basement access card in his jacket. Where had the rest of his clothes gone anyhow?

That's a useless question. Don't worry, just go in the elevator.

The magatama said not to worry, which Naoki didn't like listening to. His life had been fine and normal, right up until he'd entered this strange hospital. But where else was there to go? The terminal claimed that transporting was blocked for the moment. While Hijiri was trying to do something about that, the quickest way out was just walking out. And that meant using the elevator since there were no stairs down here. The doors opened immediately when he pressed the call button.

But that was not an elevator past those doors. He got a whiff of flesh, bile, and things he couldn't identify; he winced trying not to gag at it. Just ahead, the new hallway was an organic passage of living red and brown. It was alien and strangely familiar. Had he been there before? It looked like nowhere in the real world. But then, there were apparently forty days that he remembered little of.

"Don't be afraid, come forward," a woman's voice called. It too was faintly familiar. "My master wishes to see you."

There was a feeling of great power down the hallway. His sense was new, but Naoki could tell that this wasn't someone to mess with. At the same time, it would be unwise to ignore an invitation from them. Marogareh was still telling him not to worry, so he did as it suggested this time and stepped through the doors.

The floor seemed firm, but it definitely gave under his weight in a way that tiles didn't. Some of the passage dipped into a murky liquid. It wasn't blood, but it wasn't pure water either. While it was warm, it didn't affect his feet any to walk through it. Naoko passed slowly through, getting used to the place. There was a great flow of energy around him, giving a red glow to the walls. Magatsuhi, he didn't need anyone to tell him what that was. Seaweed, pork, rice, sushi, chocolate, green tea with a hint of fruit: emotions from many people were in that. The myriad of phantom tastes was enough to make him forget about the bodily scents around him.

A bolt of lightning in the middle of the hall made him freeze. How alive was this place? When his vision cleared from the sudden light, he saw a pair of ghosts in front of him. They weren't like the ones in the hall; these ones had shadowy faces and were smokier looking. It was like the difference between pure spring water and algae-filled pond water. According to his horn, those were Foul will o'wisps, weak to magic and knowing only one skill, Life Drain.

"Magatsuhi," one of the will o'wisps moaned, drawing closer to him. "Me want. Me eat!" Its mouth widened and it stole the energy right out of him.

Marogareh was incensed at that, even making him feel a little of that anger. Naoki punched it away without thinking about it. Thankfully, the hit connected and knocked the will o'wisp back. They were trying to eat him, so it was fine to fight. The other then rammed itself into him, showing how tangible it was by knocking him into the shallow liquid. "Me eat!" it said, drawing even closer with the other.

Without thinking, Naoki kicked it away. The first one backed off at that, giving him a moment to get back to his feet and punch it again. It dissolved into nothing, shortly followed by the second as it tried to drain him. Marogareh was satisfied with that.

It wasn't that bad, actually. Naoki flicked some of the liquid off his hands. If he hadn't got knocked over, he might even be a bit proud at it. As soon as he thought that, he wondered if the parasite was already corrupting him. He wasn't a violent person, at least he didn't think so. The tastes of his conflicted emotions was unpleasant, tart-sweet kiwi and smokey steak sauce. And when another pair of will o'wisps ambushed him, he fought them off as well. It felt so natural that it was disturbing.

"Stop here, if you would," a regular ghost said, forming enough of a hand to wave him onto a rise above the watery passage. A large syringe appeared in his hand. "My master has ordered me to treat you."

"Really?" Naoki asked, stepping over to him.

"Of course." He then reached over and stuck the syringe in him without normal preparations. "We can't have you fainting in your first battles, now can we?"

It pricked for a second, then a wash of cool minty relief came over him. The knocks from the will o'wisps might have bruised, but they wouldn't now. "Guess not."

"There will be more battles before you find the end of this passage," the ghostly doctor said, taking his syringe back and twisting the top off it. "Not too many, we don't wish to overwhelm you any more than you are. Come back to me should you need my services again, no charges at this time."

"Why did I get called in here?" It was only one question of many he had and he wasn't sure he'd get an answer. Maybe not for any of them.

"I'm not one who could tell you that," the doctor said. "In time, it will all be clear."

Naoki didn't like this, but if he didn't keep moving ahead, he'd be stuck in the hospital's basement and wherever this was. His horn could tell him the precise heart rate of the vessels in the walls, but not what this place was called. Even without that, he knew it couldn't be anywhere normal.

He is a bumbling babe now; just look at how he gets lost to his newly awakened senses. His thoughts are in great conflict. That is to be expected. Thankfully, his survival instincts are strong enough to override rationality.

He recognizes how he is different simply from his talk with the forsaken one, but doesn't yet understand the vast potential his new life gives him. He is afraid. Only natural, he did not choose this. But I can get him to accept it all the same, I'm sure.

Of course, he must accept it himself. Forcing him any further would be just the same as my eternal enemy would do. But it's a fascinating struggle to watch, overcoming his humanity with this new option to be something greater. Many see humans as a confounding mystery, how a creature whose only natural strength is a powerful free will can surpass them. I would have grown bored of existence if it wasn't for them.

They're going to notice him. They're going to do all they can to stop him, either in striking him down or beguiling him with the power of Creation. Even so, I can't always protect him. I'll give him a couple safeguards so he had time to develop in this Vortex World. Right here and now, it's fine to coddle him a bit. He's still hurt with guilt over fighting with these weak but aggressive demons. The scars will alleviate the thin skin of empathy.

And after all that bumbling of his first foray into the world of demons, here he is before me. "We're glad you made it here," my servant says. "You've shown great potential here with the strength you hold from your demonic power."

He's listening to her, but he's watching me. His tongue moves across his lips, trying to better understand us. Even as he gives a slight nod to acknowledge her, he won't take his eyes off me. Wary… you know how powerful I am, don't you? I want to see how powerful you could be. There's been other hybrids in other worlds, just none I've had a direct hand in from the start. Removing the limitations of both human and demon by combining both... I am eager to see what you will do and if you will choose the path offered by me.

But it's your choice, Naoki.

I know you understand, even if I said not a word to you yet.