Chapter 1: I wish to be happy.

There wasn't much in terms of excitement in Issei's life. Another day abbreviated by his alarm clock. Another day leering at women he could never have. Another day of being one of the dregs of the social microbiome of school.

It was almost astonishing how Issei could flick his brain to autopilot and miss most of his own life. Mind wandering to this and that searching for a way to brighten up the monotony of his existence.

He was able to stave off the existential dread with some of the more common methods: video games, media, pornography. All means to the same end; to help Issei forget just how much he doesn't have. Just enough pleasure to keep him from breaking down.

Make no mistake, Issei is not living in anguish or suffering by any stretch of the imagination. He's simply discontent with the current hand he's been dealt. He dreams too big and because of that they crumble. But something like that has never stopped him before. He's always been the one to keep going when times get tough.

Until today.

Today he couldn't even bring himself to say hello when he caught that red haired exchange student when he saw her eyeing him. He just froze. Stiff and brittle like an old leaf, until she gave him a smirk before returning to her business.

Rias Gremory. The red-haired European bombshell that had everyone rubbernecking as she walked the halls. She was treated like royalty and rightly so. Issei wouldn't be surprised if he found out she was secretly related to some famous European family.

He smirked a bit at the absurdity of it. Before he went back to self loathing. Grinding his ego into smaller and smaller pieces as his ineptitude for basic human contact showed. He wondered what she thought of him at that moment, what caused her beautiful crystal eyes to fall on him. And what could've possibly made her smile at him.

"Probably had bed-head or something…" He murmured to himself as he let his pupils focus on the night sky.

He could see a star, something was just off about it, like light bent away from it. It just had this negative space. He felt a strange sense of attachment to it. Probably because at that moment Issei didn't feel any different from that star.

Alone.

Wordlessly he ran his fingers through his hair and laid his head back on the pillow. He closed his eyes and gave his brain one last mental image of that smirk Rias had. That smile would haunt him. Issei's voice barely formed the words that left his mouth before he fell asleep. "I wish I could try again…"

I wish…

The most deadly words ever spoken.

Wishes were something of a marvel in Theston. The ability to obtain anything you wanted with a mere sentence was a luxury all people came to enjoy. It became so much easier when the Wishers came.

If whatever gave out wishes was the supplier, then the Wishers were the merchants. And sell their wishes they did. Not everyone cared about where the wishers came from, there wasn't any point to. "Don't question the value of a gift," as they would say.

Many people were content with ignorance, but not Milo. Milo knew exactly where these Wishers came from, he knew their twisted source and never in his life did he submit to their bargains, not until today.

Milo DuPont may just be the bravest fool the world has ever seen. An adventurer who had just had the story of a lifetime but that was the least of his thoughts. Discontent with how he was left after his grand experience, he decided that he deserved one last shot at life. Here he stands, lantern in hand, as he stares into the abyss that will lead to his salvation...or his demise.

The mouth of the cave snarled with stalagmites and the bones of once-great beasts. Beasts that guarded this place during a period where time wasn't measured in days but eons. He approached one of the cracked skulls of these monsters and placed his hand on the sun-bleached head, he felt an odd sense of calm then, a resolve that offset the dread in his belly.

The creatures didn't resemble mammals or reptiles but were more insect-like. Long and thin, built for stealth like mantids. Their touch upon his fingertips was charged, even in death there was still an energy to these bones. In the back of his mind Milo could feel the whispers...whispers that muttered the same word over and over again.

Forward...

With a sharp inhale and clench of his teeth he confronted the dark of that doomed chasm. Taking his first strides into the tunnel, he started down. The odd slope of the ground was causing an ache in his ankles as the feeling of wet air filled his lungs like a winter front after a morning shower.

The cacophony of surface life was still present in the atmosphere around him. The small chirping of bats or the visceral crunch of insects beneath his boots were what kept him company, more of a reminder that he wasn't alone rather than real comfort. The further he trekked into this earthen spiral the softer the sounds around him became. Deeper and deeper he descended into the depths, until the sound of life was no more and Milo was now being re-acquainted with mankind's oldest fear, isolation.

The dark seemed to swirl and lick around him reaching and then recoiling at the soft glow of his lantern.

Milo had been cognizant of the unknown for most of his life, but for the first time since his adventure he had descended down these winding tunnels, and it felt so very wrong.

He felt unwelcome, as if the cave itself was trying to purge him like a greasy piece of offal. It was the most unwelcome silence. A silence that left the loudest sound Milo could hear was the pounding of blood into his ears.

White knuckles gripped the lantern as if it was the last link to the world above. The air was becoming more frigid, and stunk of ozone. Glancing at the walls he could see the glimmer of faces. Crystals, those of which he had never been able to sample or study, creeped along the walls. Swallowing the mundane sedimentary rock and replacing it with a shimmer that rivaled the stars in sheer brilliance.

He let out a wry chuckle as again the irony invaded his mind, that such beauty would never be seen by the world above and yet, in this place of horror, the finest of beauty could be witnessed.

Milo followed their light, refractions of color dancing through the stinking air, the precious stones that made up the walls seemed to carry the light with them, staying illuminated long after he had walked by. The light was warm, warmth that this world beneath the surface lived without, warmth that spurred the young adventurer deeper.

It was about here when the walls started to show lines carved in them. Long arcing engravings that moved through the crystals, unbound by the matter that encased them.

The further down he went the more lines revealed themselves. Great etchings sliding past each other along an unseen axis. The hallway began to widen, more and more on each step. Yawning at its entrance until finally it spilled out into a great room, a door so massive that the top disappeared in the black of the ceiling. A great collection of those lines were snaking this way and that past each other, forming a map. A map to what location Milo did not know, but he didn't think it would benefit him to learn. After all the lines weren't why Milo had made the trek down here. He scanned the floor until he saw it, dead in the center of the floor was a small carving.

He approached it. To the uninitiated it would have blended into the countless symbols that littered the surfaces of this room. Maybe each of these symbols did have gravity, maybe they held power of their own, but Milo knew that the power this one held dwarfed everything else that could have possibly been contained in here. Setting his light on the ground he knelt on the crystal floor in front of the shape. The ozone in the air was causing a dull burn in the pit of his lungs, he couldn't stay down here for long.

He took a small vial from his belt, the liquid inside gurgled and writhed. Milo could feel the mutation in his body call out for the suspension. Seeing the faint blue light it gave off made Milo's mouth water. Biting down hard on his lip he fought back the urge to slake himself, instead he uncapped the strange bottle and upturned it over the floor. The strange fluid almost threw itself from the bottle, spreading out like mold as it covered the etching. Casting the symbol in an almost otherworldly brilliance.

Heavy clicks and knocks began to resonate from the door. The sound of countless mechanisms whirring and unlocking as this huge vault began to unravel itself.

Guidelines and symbols on the door lit up for a moment before dimming, the light cast upon the room began to dim as well. The crystals dared not shine now, a terrible black swallowed the room, eating the light and replacing it only with oppressive darkness.

For the first time since he started this trek, Milo's lantern went out.

All that remained was the blue glow of the elixir. The haunting glimmer blotted into the crystals, washing out their glistening violet and replacing it with a light whose shine left a dreadful chill across the skin.

Milo could feel the stitch of that cursed light on him. In the past it had distracted him, distracted him from something far more dreadful. The physics of the world started to unravel in that space as he saw the vault doors open. A terrible writhing mass inside slowly started for the door. Extending a myriad of viscous tentacle-like arms, it gripped for the edges of the doors. Hoisting itself and spilling forth from its formerly sealed prison.

Milo could see a mass from this monster push outward and look down on him. He dared to look up and saw a poorly molded shape of a head. Constantly dripping and reabsorbing the unholy metal that made up its body.

Eyes.

Too many eyes.

The monster started spawning more and more pairs of eyes. Within them, Milo could see the aqueous blue energy as it tumbled and frothed behind every single lens. It was hideous - and beautiful in so many ways.

The unearthly chill had flooded the room and with a bold inhale Milo finally spoke up, "I have a wish, Primus…" Even with the courage that had welled up in him his voice was little more than a mumble.

The head tilted down, seemingly examining Milo. The deformed head circled him like a serpent taking note of everything on his person. How he stood, how he talked, how he imposed on its presence.

"My greatest accuser enters my prison?"

He couldn't see any facial expressions but Milo could tell Primus was smiling. He could tell by the way he rocked his head from side to side. His voice seemed to come from the walls, a thrumming drone that Milo felt in his very core.

This thing could not hurt him and yet the adventurer found himself shivering in fear. He had seen horrors beyond the comprehension of man, but most paid him no mind. Not Primus. Primus made it his entire existence around drawing more victims into accepting his curses. Making them give up their 'pound of flesh' in exchange for short term happiness. Endless stories of his proxies charming people from their homes, their wealth, their humanity. Milo had seen it all on his travels with his old party. Now the adventurer was feeling the knife of this horrible machine as it readied to carve out his pound of flesh.

"I have a wish I want to make." He stammered. Searching his soul for a drop of fire that would make him look less pathetic to this monster.

"How bold of you to come make this demand in person. Does the presence of my creations fluster the likes of you?"

Primus' Wishers were how he was able to spread his curses to this land. Taking the form of beautiful spirits. Many times they tried their tricks on Milo, and many times he denied them.

"I wanted to make a wish like this in person. I don't want one of your extensions messing up the one thing I ever ask of you." The eyes of this monster cast themselves down upon him at hearing these words. Primus had no method to hurt him but that didn't make the resentment he currently held any less threatening.

The monster's body shifted forward, as if it was propping itself up to seem more grand in its magnitude. "You've made it very clear that you have no respect for me. So why should I grant you any wish that you have?"

"Because I know your price for what I want will be steep, and I know that you know I can pay it."

Unmoved. The monster remained firm in his position. Tilting his head away from Milo.

"I have not become so predictable that you can assume my price. How dare you make a bold assumption to my face?"

"Primus I know you're hungry. What if I told you that I can get you the power you crave?" Milo swallowed hard. He was obviously bluffing but Primus wasn't the all knowing being he cracked himself up to be.

The machine stopped and turned towards Milo. Pushing himself where his multitude of eyes all gazed at the young man. Less than a foot from his face, Primus could tell just how much his presence unnerved him. And he was more than willing to exploit that.

"And just how do you intend to do that?" Primus' tone was low and guttural. His words were a question but his tone was a threat, 'do NOT waste my time'.

"You're bound to this vault which means your hunger is only remedied by how much your extensions can bring back for you. I know you're aware of other places. Places where your extensions won't survive but something stronger will. If you grant my wish I will personally harvest these energies for you and present them as if I were yours." Milo's hands were visibly shaking, because while Primus couldn't touch him, he knew that this monster would find a way to settle this debt.

However, Primus didn't snap at Milo. His form seemed to write and twist while one of his arms gently traced up and down Milo's body. "What makes you think you're even strong enough to obtain anything for me? You're a fool if you think you know what you're asking for."

Criticism wasn't what Milo was expecting to hear. Anger started to roil inside him. How dare he? How dare this machine make a mockery of every labor he's had to perform in his life.

"I've done more in the past 3 years than you have in your whole time locked in this prison! I'm the only human to make it back from the ascendant plane. I witness the death of a god and the fight of the century. What have you done?! Just sit in that crystal jail and leech off other people's desires like the parasite you are!"

Now it was Primus who was taken aback. There was a long silence between both of them until Primus let off an odd noise. A hitching whine that sounded like the clacking of metal and rocks together. It was the dreadful sound of his laughter. Long peals of terrible laughter filled the room, they went on and on until Milo could hear the sound from inside his own head.

"Now that's what I like to see!" Primus once again leveled his head to Milo. "I like that passion inside you. A light that gives off the coldest glow. A real monster talking."

Milo was having none of Primus' antics and was more concerned on the topic at hand. "Are you going to help me or not? I've already stated what I'd do for you. All that's left is your say..."

The energy in the room was slowly eating away at Milo, he could feel his lungs heavy with Ether as his time in this terrible plane lingered. Still he stood as resolute as he could, he wanted to show off his strength, the strength he was using to make this bargain. And Primus could see it.

"Your vigor pleases me. If you stay true to your words and bring me all I ask, then I will repay you in kind and I shall grant any want you seek. All you have to do is wish it."

Milo looked relieved and closed his eyes, taking a moment to make sure his words were concise enough to make his message and vague enough to allow some room to work with. He opened his eyes and took his last breath of ether.

When a person has something that sets them apart, that doesn't by default make them special.

They could have words with unspeakable power, or the ability to see the unseen, the power to bend what's around them to their reality, or they could hide a monster inside them. But special is only special until it's not, and Issei Hyoudou has a spectacular ability to make special seem absolutely mundane.

It was just like any other day for young Issei. Another day of rolling out of bed, of not paying attention in class, of spending too much time worrying about sins of the flesh. A day that was in no way different than any other. That was the reality for Issei. Being so completely and utterly insignificant that the universe wouldn't even blink if he dropped off the face of the Earth.

Not a single person around him could guess that he held a monster inside him. An ancient dragon of unspeakable power, power that has laid dormant for years. So insignificant that Issei was none the wiser to the serpent that coiled around his soul.

But that didn't matter.

Issei wouldn't live to see the marvel he would have grown into. He wouldn't have a grand adventure where he discovers just how much of a lucky man he is to get such a powerful blessing from beyond. He wouldn't ever fill the hole in his heart that isolation gave him.

No. Little Issei was about to learn the hard way that fate cuts in both directions. And as far as he was concerned, his monster inside him was the ultimate undoing. With power like that it was only a matter of time until something came looking for him. And that something needn't look any further than his bedroom window.

Claws digging into the wall keeping him perched there like a mosquito. Knife clutched at the ready like a rostrum. Milo never thought he'd be returning to his old ways, stealing energy to stay alive, but there was a certain comfort to his actions. A familiarity to the routine that hadn't been tread in years. Once upon a time, these actions would have caused anxiety to rear its ugly head, but he isn't the man he used to be; not by a long shot.

He couldn't help but steal a glance at the small slug of blue metal that sat just under his wrist. Almost taking Primus' words for falsehood he dared to make a wish, to see if the abomination would hold true. Looking back into the window, he could see the bed against the adjacent wall. A sleeping monster snoring within. With the aid of his mask he could see two other adults in the house.

Parents.

The thought of leaving them alive for the discovery of what became of their son caused a pang of guilt in Milo's heart. Even if it was gluttonous of him, Milo would still spare them that heartache. He looked at the stone again, and thought now was as good a time as any to test it.

"I wish to be swift." Barely louder than a whisper. The stone glowed for a brief moment before going dim. His body felt lighter than air as the weight in his limbs became negligible.

With a small push of his hand the window opened and just like that he was upon them.