[An Excerpt from Reinhardt Karsten's book, The Kings of Magic, 19th Century]
... ... To those who accomplish this formidable feat, I give them the title of: Campione - The Highest of All Kings -.
Among all virtuous readers and pious believers in the faith of the One True God, some will most likely disbelieve and label these words as blasphemy and demand for the destruction of my works, while others will say that I am making undue fuss over it.
However, I would like to emphasize once again.
The Campione - is a Supreme Ruler.
Since he can kill a Celestial Being, he can therefore be equal to the Divine Authorities wielded by the pagan gods.
The Campione - is a Lord.
Since the power equal to gods is in his hands, they therefore stand over the many mortals of the world.
The Campione - is The Devil.
Since his words dominate and overturn the Heavens, none on this Earth may object to his will!
[An Excerpt from the Letter of His Eminence, Roberto Enrico Cardinal Aldini, Archbishop of Milan, Addressed to the Vatican, 20th Century]
For the purpose of going against Heavenly Providence, advancing the heretical knowledge of mages, he received the title of King from them. Concerning of what the Holy See has been hearing more or less,
Campione are the illegitimate children of Pandora and Epimetheus. A King of Devils who rule over other lesser mages.
Unfortunately, we mortals cannot fight against them.
The ones who can fight against them are their fellow Kings, the ancient pagan gods who were once the enemies of our Lord in Heaven and his Holy Servants...
[An Excerpt of the report from History Compilation Committee Concerning the Verification of the new Magic King(Maou), Beginning of the 21st Century]
Originating from the Egyptian Cosmology, the Ouroboros was a dragon of contradiction. In order for it to live, it must continuously die. In order for it to sate its constant hunger and grow, it must repeatedly devour its own flesh and blood.
Crossing over to Greece from Egypt in the Hellenistic Period, it was then revered by the followers of Gnosticism, Hermeticism, and Alchemy as the eternal cycle of renewal - a Cycle of Life and Death, of Beginnings and Ends.
The skin-sloughing process of serpents symbolizes the transmigration of souls, the serpent biting its own tail is often known as a fertility symbol. The tail of the serpent is a phallic symbol while its mouth represents a yonic or womb-like symbol.
Even if the Ouroboros continuously eats its tail, it would still grow, and thus symbolizes prosperity to those who would worship it - to make it simple. After its deification, it became the symbol of what it ultimately represented, Infinity.
It was this symbol that the new Maou is suspected to conceptually embody.
[Report on the Newborn Campione, ] by the Witenagemot Assembly
As stated by the report above, the newborn Grand - of whom we know not of his name - had conceptually embodied the Ouroboros and has thus become [The Infinite]; several of his abilities have been deduced.
One of the abilities the new King has displayed was a continuous interference of our senses that would prevent us from knowing his true appearance and from hearing his name other than that of the symbol that he embodied.
It is thought to be that this ability is linked to the concept of his eternal cyclical renewal, birthing and dying in a new face; each distinct and has been noted to have no similarities to each other.
Another characteristic that has been noted of His Majesty, had been his unfathomable amount of Prana which had been recognized by Her Highness, Princess Alice Ashford, The Highest Witch of the Heavens to be,"indiscernible to the mortal eye, transcendental by nature".
Aside from His Majesty's abnormal Prana - even among his siblings - not much is known of the newborn Campione.
It is then a popular belief that he is not on the same level as the other Grand Kings of the world, and thus does not have absolute authority.
However, I implore all of you, do not forget.
Even though the extent of his powers remain unconfirmed, it cannot be denied that he is a Grand King, a Demon Lord; one who is equal to only six others in the world. Towards us humble humans and lesser mages, he is still an insurmountable figure that stands above us.
Twenty years.
For many, this amount of time would have constituted a significant cut of their lifetime, and yet, it's passage had all been but a blink of an eye to him.
In an instant, twenty wonderful, bloody, violating, mind-crushing but ultimately victorious years flashed before his Mind's Eye. The life he had led - the joys, the sorrows, the challenges; he watched them all pass him by through the revolving lantern. He had gone through many changes: starting as a hero, becoming a villain, and ultimately ending as a King.
Broken lips twitched into what possibly could have been a smile. Although it had taken two decades, he had finally done it.
...Theyhad finally done it.
Even as the ruined world holding the last Anchor of the[ONE WHO ORIGINATES ALL]was bathed in various shades of white and grey, disappearing into unreality within the platinum light of annihilation, he could feel content blooming within his chest.
[AIN SOPH AUR - THE TIME FOR THE END HAS COME, HE IS WHO EMBRACES ALL, an unavoidable attack worthy of its status as the Ultimate Authority ofThey-Who-Art-The-Beginning. This was his foe's final act of spite just before their demise; empty voids for eyes slowly closed as his burnt, cracked face smiled sadly.
'In the end, we had won. Victory was ours - no... it was mine. Victory was mine, for there is no one else to share it with. Even after all our struggles we had won but not before humanity had become extinct. How, sad.'
-- At least, I had kept my promise, he whispered with his torn throat.
Agario. Perhaps this will be the last time anyone would speak of this name here. It was the name of his now ruined world.
He wanted to laugh at the irony of it all. They had started this war in rebellion against the extra-dimensional invaders - Gods in all but name - and to prevent the subjugation of countless lives and the destruction of 132,256,235,964,999 various parallel worlds.
Out of all the various worlds invaded by these Extra-dimensional Gods, now, only 5,128 remain.
His world was not included in this number.
He wanted to laugh at the irony of it all. Truly, it was a tragedy. What else could this be called but a Pyrrhic Victory? The one thing he had fought to protect was also one of the first casualties in this war.
'I'm sorry, Sis. I couldn't make it back... but you don't have to worry. I made friends here - wonderful friends who were there for me and wouldn't hesitate to pull me back from hell. I made comrades, people who would stand by my side until the end. I had family - sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, people who were with me through thick and thin. I'm going to join them now.'
The world began to shatter under the strain of holding up against the light of annihilation. The boundaries that separated the 132,256,235,964,999 worlds began to burn as the light of[AIN SOPH AUR]- the completion of creation and destruction, destroyed and remade the wounds in the fabric of reality.
Although he was unable to see it, he felt the presence of the bridges through the Kaleidoscope collapse as each individual Dimensional Gap reasserted their existence and rebuilt the boundaries that separated each world from the other.
His body began to disappear under the light of the end.
He fulfilled his deal with the devil. He was freed from his obligation and contract but he would not survive. The Devil had what it wanted and whether that would mean ruin or not, he would not know.
He was tired. So very, tired. His body, once, invincible and ever-victorious, could no longer move. The endless might that once filled his whole self was no longer there.
He must survive. He wanted to die. He has many regrets. He must live - but living was painful. His death was glorious. His story would be immortalized by the remaining 5,128 worlds that fought beside him. His life would be turned into an unfading legend like those heroes of old he once knew.
His friends... were they calling him? He felt like he could hear them now. Was it time? It was getting harder to breathe. His wounds no longer bled for there was no more blood left to bleed. His regeneration no longer worked; the immortal had become wholly mortal.
In the end, it no longer mattered.
It was done. His mission, his promise... it was done.
He could not help but remember the last words a version of hisfriend/sister/loverhad once uttered; the villainous hero who once stood unyielding against a similar entity as his foe and lost in her victory. He echoed her regrets, her last sentiments in her last moments.
"*sigh*... We are a-all... s-so... so very small, in the end... "
His world was filled with light.
He started.
A sharp sting pierced the back of his eyes as indistinct information flooded his mind. Once again, the heady feeling of bottomless, endless but controlled might filled his body. Euphoria, a familiar feeling that he had not felt since the early days of his conquest in another world erupted from within together with his power.
Puzzled, he knit his brows. He had died. This sensation that he was feeling was impossible.
Hurriedly, he turned to his innermost self and was brought into the plane thatwas/is/not/where/housedhis soul.
Inky waters undulated softly as their vantablack color devoured all light and made it seem as if he were on top of liquid shadow. He stood over its rolling waves unbothered by their movement nor by the fact that he was miraculously standing over a body of liquid as if it were solid ground. He stared towards the horizon - where midnight blues and purples and reds and yellows met with black - decorated with unfamiliar stars and constellations, overshadowed trees of flesh that had fog for leaves, beyond strange figures that danced beneath the waves and between fleshy branches.
He ignored them all as he focused on the blood red moon above before his eyes swept to the left and two stars above and beheld the single brightest star tethered upon the planar sky. An arm was raised towards the sky and fingers closed upon that celestial being and...
--[INFINITY]greeted him.
Stepping forward, black waters disappeared and he stepped into empty space. His surroundings changed, no longer was he within a grove of trees of flesh and fog, but a void. He took no notice of this however, as his eyes remained fixed upon his core.
His Origin.
This was his soul, his innermost self. The core of his being and the one thing that showed who he was, who he is, and who he will be presented in a manner his all-too-limited brain could comprehend.
A black void that endlessly stretched in every direction. A limitless space that had nothing and yet contained everything he had ever wanted.
A joyful smile sat on his face as he heard and comprehended the numerous concepts he had gained ownership of in his life. Feeling nothing wrong within his soul, he stepped back and returned to consciousness.
"Are you done?"
A lazy voice, as though they could have fallen asleep instantly, called out from above his head and he opened his eyes. A bewitching face and half-lidded green eyes surpassing even the most flawless of emeralds appeared upside-down within his vision as bubblegum pink hair acted like curtains and covered everything but her from his eyes.
A hand appeared from behind the pink curtain and a flawless hand of white jade caressed his face, leaving a trail that not even the coldest of ice could compare.
"Welcome back, my most beloved challenger."
A grunt escaped his lips as static exploded with enough force to deafen an entire universe within his mind. Even so, pushing through a pain that not even the Gods could endure, he gave a fearless smile towards this entity.
"Yo, I'm back! Susie. Did you enjoy the show?"
-- And numerous fangs appeared behind her lips as her smile split her face into clear halves as though it was a crescent moon.
The Lord of the Gap. The Disputer. The Seducer with Riches. The Seventh of the Princes of Hell. The Devil.
This entity before him had surely earned plenty of names in her continued existence. The name he had called her was only one of the many mundane monikers she had stolen for herself. And though her titles constantly change, there is but one constant that remains: The Archdemon of Sloth.
[BELPHEGOR]
He continued to hold her avaricious gaze even as his heart and mind raced through the pain.
Hope. Despair. Love. Want. Desire. Ambition. Greed. Enmity. Hatred. Determination. Will. Grief. Rage. Fear. His mind reeled. He lived.
From an uncountable number of souls that accompanied him in his journey, only he had lived - somehow. And that journey, that roller-coaster of a life of adventure started here, at this very spot with this very posture.
The static cleared from his mind and her touch of ice became more pronounced upon his skin. A shiver ran through his spine as her nails dug a light bleeding path on his naked chest.
"Yess~"
A fevered whisper entered his ear as cold hands delicately but firmly gripped the sides of his face. A modest weight settled itself on his waist and voluptuous thighs fiercely squeezed them together leading him to release an uncomfortable grunt.
"You were most magnificent my beloved challenger."
She nuzzled beneath his chin and nipped at his neck with her fangs.
"You have won the challenge! Among the 17,000 challengers I have gathered, you have entertained me the most."
He leaned back into a sinfully soft sofa that came from he knew not where; careful not to dislodge the demon who had settled to lying on his lap with her hair spread in a mockery of an angel's halo.
It was only when he had fully settled did he notice that they were both naked.
"There were 17,000 challengers?"
He asked, curious, paying no mind to their naked states and absently brushed a hand on lustrous pink locks.
He hadn't known that there were that many desperate people willing to grasp the hand of the devil in a game for a wish. Perhaps, they were not as desperate as they were simply greedy? He would not know.
'If there were 17,000 people other than myself in this challenge... What happened to the remaining 16,999 challengers now that I have won?'
He thought, morbidly curious of their fates.
Fufufu, hearing a lovely giggle, he looked up from between two lovely mountains whose hardened tips poked his cheeks, and saw Belphegor's mischievous smirk. Seeing through the question in his mind, he felt her hand grab his and laid it flat on her stomach before dragging it down almost to her womb.
A spark of understanding and a hint of dread flashed through his eyes. What do demons do to those they have tricked? Even now, it was as if he could feel their screams through his palm.
"They were delicious~"
Her long, pink tongue licked his collarbone all the way to the bottom of his right eye.
"Twenty[CORES]from theOne-Who-Sees' conflict engine. Two intact corpses of theOne-Who-Originates-Alland theOne-Who-Returns-Allwith all their most vital shards intact. You have made a most impressive tribute!"
He wrinkled his nose in disgust as he understood what she wished to do with those things. He turned his head and saw her drooling on an exquisite antique table as she watched a video playback of his fights with the aforementioned creatures.
For an existence such as her, theOne-Who-Sees, theOne-Who-Originates-All, and theOne-Who-Returns-Allwere vital foods in order to increase her power, her knowledge, and most importantly, her flagging Divinity.
For a former goddess who had fallen into hell and became a demon, there could be nothing more important than the maintenance and supplement of her divinity; the sole proof and power of her previous identity.
To him who had been human, it was an abhorrent practice, but who was he to criticize the habits of someone who was entirely too different from what he is?
"In accordance with our agreed upon point system, you have gained 42 more points in comparison to the challenger who had taken second place."
Belphegor explained, swinging her feet to and fro atop his lap as she wrapped his arms around her slender waist.
"How exceptional to have gained such a splendid victory! Especially since you chose the most dangerous of all my challenges with no extra lives, neither immortality nor eternal youth as part of your initial set of abilities; and all for a chance to create a miracle."
She bent her head to meet his gaze with a smile reminiscent of a crescent moon and a rapturous lust present in her eyes.
"The act of God-slaying can never be considered to be a light matter among the multiverse and the death of a god in the hands of a mortal even more so. Truly, you were most delightful, my most beloved challenger~!"
From within him, his soul blazed in response to her words. It was then he knew that she spoke no deceit. He, who had laid his hands on the divine and bathed in the ichor of their kin, had been forever marked.
He wasFatebreaker.
He wasGodslayer.
"To the sole you who had performed such a formidable feat among 132,256,235,964,999 worlds, were you not given an apt designation? For this sole unique position, you had reached your own Answer to your Existence and achieved Enlightenment - let me grant upon you your first[NAME]... "
Then, with all the gravitas of a Prince of Hell, The Lord of the Gap, The Archdemon of Sloth,SPOKE.
You are[THE ENDLESS]
"To you who had reached the Transcendental even among the divine, to you who had kept advancing even in the face of the impossible, the unreasonable... it is fitting is it not?"
He looked up, their noses almost touching and he felt her breath upon his lips as she straddled his legs. Her arms were positioned at both sides of his head as though to cage him in place. He bit down a moan when she ground her bud all too close to his pillar. His hands gripped her waist, whether to stop her or to grind her harder, his frazzled mind did not know.
"Ah~,I really want to keep you all to myself, my beloved challenger. I want to lock you up. I want to chain you down.I want to drown in you in pain and pleasure as we keep to ourselves for eternity~~~!!"
"S-stop...!"
He shouted with closed eyes and tried to hold on to the last remaining bastions of his sanity that had been steadily chipped away by this Devil. He tried to stop himself from contemplating the pleasure when she ground him with their bodies practically one and the same - as he knew, should he do so, he would be this devil's plaything until the end.
He was trying...
-- And failing.
"Unfortunately, I cannot no matter how much I would want to."
He sighed with barely hidden relief. He glared back at her teary eyes and roughly, pulled back her lengthy hair in recompense for the frustration and humiliation he was feeling.
Though it was meant as punishment, Belphegor released a breathy moan. Her lust climbing higher, her cheeks pinked and she smiled with perverted pained pleasure.
"O-our contract binds us, and I cannot keep you here any longer than this without bestowing upon you your reward. Doing so will forfeit me my Power and Divinity. I had originally planned on giving you a pittance, but after such a wonderful display of strength and cunning, even[CROWNS]and[PHANTASMS]are not enough. To the exceptional you, allow me to grant an appropriate reward."
Ice cold fingers dug to the sides of his head and her face inched closer to his. Her breath was upon his lips and he was sure she could feel his on her own.
Belphegor paused for a second before --
"An[AUTHORITY]."
-- She kissed him fully with a passion comparable to the heat of a million exploding suns.
He resisted but was easily overpowered by the Devil who had complete control of this realm. His arms which had intended to push her away froze in place with a thought and were forcefully brought to his sides with another. He was frozen in place, unable to resist with anger growing behind his eyes.
She slipped her tongue past his unresisting lips and played with all that it could reach; his tongue, his lips, the back of his teeth and the roof of his mouth.
As she did, knowledge bloomed within his mind. It was something both familiar and unfamiliar to his being and thus caused no rejection from his body when such eldritch knowledge entombed itself within his consciousness.
The knowledge of the Boundaries, of the invisible line that separates what is and what could be, of things that should not be known by mortals as it has breached the exclusive privilege of the creator made itself known to him.
This was his reward. The heretical Authority of the Fallen Goddess that was the Archdemon of Sloth.
Even as the devil pulled away from the kiss, a silver bridge connecting their lips together, a faint hope nestled itself within his heart.
Maybe... maybe now, he would finally be able to correct his mistake.
Licking her lips clean of any trace of their previous activity, Belphegor placed her forehead against his and sighed regretfully.
"I'm afraid we have used up all of our time together. The challenge has been cleared, the rewards have been given. It is time for you to go, my beloved."
Once again the world was filled with light and he was ejected from the Devil's domain.
-- Let us meet again soon, beloved.
Once more, he woke up.
Once more, he beheld a sight that had long been unfamiliar to him before memories - wonderful,happy- memories flooded his mind. He gazed at the familiar ceiling of a broken home as a disbelieving sigh escaped him.
He was back. He wastruly back.
His breath stopped short as the full realization of the situation fully permeated his weary mind. Lifting a hand before his astonished face, he clenched a fist as he luxuriated under the feeling of his unending might flowing through his veins.
He was home!
--And best of all, he thought with a growing smile on his face.
Turning his eyes to his innermost self, he watched his soul burn as it connected to the various concepts he had usurped from his fallen foes. The hairs on the back of his neck raised as he felt[THE ADMINISTRATOR]draw from his limitless well of power and connect and organize the many concepts tethered to his soul.
Hastily throwing off the covers of his bed, he rocketed to his feet. He left the all-too-silent apartment he had been living in for the past three years with barely any consideration to his state of dress before throwing on a track suit he had left on the desk next to his bed.
Stepping out of the door, he wasted no time as he drew on the power of his soul and spread it over and inside his body. His power went deep, past the cells that made up his form, past the molecules and atoms that were part of the physical and reached into the meta-physical before filling the gaps of his "flaws" and amplifying his "best".
Breathing in the cold night air, he then breathed out hot steam as a light heat haze surrounded his form. Lightly, he stepped on the guardrail directly facing the street - and leapt to the roof of the building beyond in a single bound. It was then he ran with increased speed - breaching the Third Cosmic Velocity as he could not waste any more time.
Constantly aware of the anxious beating of the heart within his chest, he ran and leapt with all the grace of a desperate man. In an instant, he had arrived at his destination and jumped up to the third floor, and into a room he had sadly known by heart.
A room that contained what could only be his greatest treasure.
Heart beating wildly in his chest, he stood by the open window that a nurse must have mistakenly forgotten. Cold, nightly wind blew in fluttering white, pristine curtains and disturbing the once peaceful room.
Beep… Beep… Beep…
His heart leaping into his throat, he swallowed the lump as he beheld the figure partially obscured by the curtains. Even now, hooked up to various devices that monitored her health and condition, she was still as beautiful as ever. She may have been a tad paler than he had remembered, but that could be excused as him being unable to recall her image accurately after all these years.
After all, while time may not have passed in his home reality, he had personally experienced twenty years of drama, hardship, adventure, war and love in the world he had been sent to.
Softly, cautiously, he stepped into the room. His soft steps, unmuffled by his magic, echoed through the tiled floor as he approached her with an unsteady gait - trying, and failing, to silence himself. Scoffing, he mocked himself internally. Even if he were to shout at the top of his lungs, he would not be able to disturb his most precious treasure.
His precious sister would still not wake. She had already been asleep for three years.
Misty eyes blurred as he looked at her. He could still remember the doctor's words the day before - in this world - with an all too clear quality. He could still remember the despair and the sheer desperation he had felt that led to his acceptance of Belphegor's challenge.
'Her condition is stable and there are no signs of injury anywhere that has not healed after all this time, but… we are not sure when she will be able to wake up. Your sister still has a high amount of brain activity comparable to that of a healthy person her age, it is only that she seems to be in a deep sleep…'
'… Her coma has lasted for three years…'
'... Not sure… when…'
'... She… may…'
'Never…'
'Wake…'
'Up…'
-- I'm sorry.
He could remember himself drowning in darkness and somehow reaching his apartment, but he did not know how. That day, he had gone through the motions as though he was an automaton - a living doll. He could remember smiling at his patrons in the convenience store he worked at, but it was an empty one. The doctor's words continuously echoed in his head.
The longer a patient remained in a coma, the lesser the chance of them ever waking up.
Constantly, he had blamed himself for his sister's current state. If only he had retained his presence of mind, if only he had looked both ways, if only he had been more responsible, if only, if only…
Such thoughts plagued him day and night.
"H-hey, sis. I-I'm back."
He whispered hoarsely, his heart still stuck to his throat.
In the past twenty years, how many times had he dreamed of this moment? How many times had he dreamed of his desire to finally be in the presence of his most beloved treasure? How many times had he dreamed of brushing her silky lavender locks, just as he was doing now?
He didn't know, but he was glad - overjoyed - that he could finally make those dreams come true.
… He could finally atone for his sin.
Even after all that he had been through, he could not help but stew in apprehension. What if he failed? What should he do if this didn't work? He didn't know. If this failed, he wouldn't know what he was liable to do, and that scared him.
'No. There is no time for doubts. Whether it works or not, it will be determined after I do it.'
Breathing in, he exhaled all his doubts and apprehensions. He reached into his soul, and once more connected to a usurped concept[REVERSAL].
The infinite well-spring of his power burned bright and his mind calculated the necessary calculations in an unfathomably blinding speed. Glowing blue motes of light drew circles and geometric shapes that filled the entire private suite in a 3-dimensional equation. This was the pinnacle that he had reached. The result of all the years of studies he had done. This was Agario's gift to all its inhabitants - one that could be reached by anyone of sufficient power and will.
A Grand Ritual that required hundreds, if not thousands, of mages of considerable power and intellect and the barbaric sacrifice of souls to do. The fact that he alone could perform this Grand Spell equal to the hundreds and thousands required to perform it validated the title he had been granted by them: The Sorcerous King.
His eyes remained impassive even when his heart thundered within his chest. His grief burned him. His hopes pushed him. The power of his equations reached its peak and they did as they were designed to do.
His[UNRESTRICTED SPELL]warped reality making it fragile, moldable, changeable, and he actively turned back the time. The world took three years from his sister as she remained asleep, so he would be taking those back.
Hopefully, he watched as his sister seemed to age backwards; losing the pale pallor that she had gained in her coma. He watched as her complexion gained a healthy, pinkish hue and sighed in visible relief as he saw her eyes visibly move behind her eyelids.
It worked. It had worked! He wanted to laugh. He wanted to jump. He wanted to boisterously shout to the world that it had worked!
Unbidden, tears flowed from his eyes as he cried from joy. He staggered to her bedside and sat there as he grasped her hand with both of his. Placing it against his forehead he chuckled silently and basked in the warmth of her hand. Nuzzling her knuckles he reached out and rubbed his thumb on her cheeks all the while smiling in joy.
Everything had gone well. His Unrestricted Spell had done its job exceptionally. Now, all he has to do is wait.
Sighing, he looked up to the predawn sky. Shoulder length deep violet-black hair fluttered in the wind as he looked at half forgotten constellations. Raising a hand, he traced a finger along their patterns and said their names out loud. Of course, after twenty years in another world, another planet with a vastly different sky, he struggled to remember the name of Earth's constellations.
Moving to a bench on the hospital's central garden, he sighed in relief and exhaustedly slumped against its back. Now that the most concerning matter had been resolved, his mind delved into his current situation.
He had healed his sister of her affliction in a way that was nothing but miraculous. Questions will be asked by those pertinent to this matter and those who are not. Doctors will be puzzled with her rapid recovery - especially since she was projected to never wake up again. He had spent back-breaking, mind numbing effort to work for the money that would be used to pay for her various treatments, but all of them failed to wake her up.
Reminiscing on how his sister's appointed doctor all but give up on her made him wish he could go punch his head off. He could do so now, of course. No one on this planet would be able to link the murder to his name if he used all his abilities, but then, what would be the point?
So what if the doctor had given up on his sister?
She would awaken and live. That was all that mattered.
Brushing his hair with a hand, he looked to the stars above and contemplated. He knew beyond uncertainty or doubt that they were not alone. In between massive stars, in the darkness where light could not reach, dwelled creatures the mind could not comprehend; whose sizes were as small as man or as big as planets. He knew life thrived even beyond the light of their sun and beings of all walks of life lived in the different planets that made up the Milky Way galaxy and more.
The universe was a wide, wide place.
"Even then…"
He sighed. Even on this small Earth, all manners of beings lived too. Closing his eyes, he bathed in the Mana of the World as it tried to resonate with the power of his soul. Far to the distance, he could feel the thrumming of Divinity. To another direction, he felt traces of structured fluctuations in the World's Mana.
He hummed. To think that the world he had once thought of as boring contained such extraordinary entities such as gods and mages, he really had been living in ignorance. Even then, he knew that even these gods and demons had something they fear. For all their power, there were still things more powerful than gods out there.
Too bad for them then, that he was one of those powerful beings that gods should fear.
With his power, there really was no point in contemplating this. Should any of the Supernatural try to mess with him and his, he would show them why he had been marked as Fatebreaker and Godslayer. Really, all of this had just been to keep his mind busy and reacquaint himself with his birth planet but even beyond that…
He knew what it was like to wake up in a hospital bed alone. It was for this reason that he employed a variety of stealth techniques, both mundane and magical. Keeping himself hidden from the cameras and the security personnel's eyes, he waited for the right time as he didn't want for his sister to wake up confused and alone. After all…
-- Loneliness is the most painful thing of all.
His payoff had succeeded. His challenge was won! Belphegor had once told him that should he win the challenge and complete all the stipulations and goals, he would retain everything. He had done just that. He still had his limitless power, all his hard-won knowledge, the techniques he had carved into his body, even the incalculable wealth he had made was still within his Infinite Treasury.
Impossible magical and scientific artifacts, weapons, armors, and gadgets that could change the world, fantastical potions that could give one eternal youth or immortality, herbs and wands that could resurrect the dead and create life, the finest of foods and drinks, the most beautiful of art and sculptures, the best fashions of the past, present and future, and all manners of precious stones and metals in every size and shape; should he empty all of his treasury, not even this entire solar system is capable of holding it all.
Truly, it was a hoard that would be the envy of gods.
And he would give up all these treasures in a heartbeat for a chance - just a chance - to bring back those he had loved and cared for.
He was alone now. His comrades from a vast alliance of multiple realities were gone. He had lost everyone he had cared for from that side. Belphegor had stated that he could have brought his loved ones with him back to this reality, provided that they were still alive. None of them - his friends, his lovers, his sons, his daughters, his family - all of them were gone.
Promises were broken. Oaths were left unfulfilled. His resolution to bring them to a world of peace, one where suffering did not become something that they had to be used to, one where injustices did not remain unpunished, one where happiness was possible…
"I'm sorry, I-I can't grant you your wish," said the Djinn of Aleinayat Al'iilhia. A sad frown was on her face as she looked upon his broken expression. "They-Who-Walk-Below erased their souls from across time and space. By striking at their Power of Existence from both the past and present, their existence cannot be found in the future. I… I am truly sorry for your loss, my liege. Your wish, cannot be granted."
-- Impossible.
He looked to the stars. They were as indifferent to his grief as they were to everything their feeble light touches. He watched as they twinkled amongst the darkness of the universe, never noticing the thin trails of tears that flowed down his cheeks.
"The stars are bright tonight."
Defeat in Victory, he understood that now.
Humming filled the air.
His hand froze before it grasped the doorknob. Eyes widened as his ears were filled with the bittersweet notes of nostalgia and he was lost in memories of a distant past. It was a hopeful, bittersweet song telling one of lost loves and loves found. It was a song he had not heard in so long.
It was her favorite song.
With shaking hands, slowly, as though he were afraid it was an illusion, he pushed the door open and was briefly blinded by the early rising sun. It was like a scene straight from the movies. Brilliant golden light bathed the room in a soft glow as though here were in a dream, and white curtains fluttered with a small breeze from the open window.
There, with blankets pooling on top of her legs, she sat upright. Dark hair that appeared to be lavender under the light of the sun, danced as she softly swayed with the song she sang. Though she was dressed in hospital scrubs, she was as picturesque as any painting.
Her humming stopped just as she registered his presence. She turned to him, and he felt his breath stop as she gazed at him with glittering ruby eyes and a soft smile. He saw her smile widen just as he felt his tears flow once more.
"Hey," she spoke with slight mischief in her voice. "Entering the room of a single, beautiful lady without knocking… I wonder what nefarious intentions you have? Pervert."
"Lady? What lady? If I ever see a lady, I will let you know."
"Eh~ how rude! There is clearly one in front of you! Did your parents not teach you what a lady looks like?"
Looking at her pout, he couldn't help but give a teary laugh. It has been so, so long since they had bantered like this. He had missed it. Slowly, he approached her with an outstretched hand. Palm met cheek and the most important person in his life nuzzled his hand as she held it with her own.
"I'm afraid not," he whispered as his thumb rubbed her face. "It was my sister who taught me everything I know."
"She must have done a lousy job then if you could not recognise a woman."
"You take that back. My sister is the smartest, loveliest person in the world."
He sat by her bedside and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Bringing her to his chest, she closed her eyes and placed her ear to his beating heart. She smiled when she felt his fingers thread through her lavender locks.
"Disgusting,"she muttered. "How can you say that with a straight face?"
"How can I not when it's the truth."
"Siscon. But go ahead, tell me more." She wrapped her arms around his waist and felt her breath synchronize with his.
"Hmm, no I don't think so. I think I'll keep them with me for now."
"Hmph. Spoilsport."
The sun rose fully in the sky and noise began to pick up as people and activity in their surroundings became more prominent. Wrapped in each other's arms, they tried to find comfort in the other. One, for the years spent without the other; and the other, for recognising that they had lost irreplaceable time.
"How long was I asleep for?"
She calmly asked but there was a slight tremble in her tone that indicated her fear. It was something he did not miss. Hugging her tighter to his chest, he stilled the shaking of his arms and answered:
"T-Three years."
"It has been a long time then?"
He nodded, burying his nose into her hair and smelling a nostalgic sweet scent. His eyes were drawn to a small scar on her shoulder - or rather, the place where a scar would have been three years later. Seeing the disappearance of the only visible symbol of his sin against his most important person calmed down the small part of him that still believed that this was all a dream.
This is real. All of this is real!
As though he was just fully realizing this, he shook within his sister's embrace. Guilt and relief tore at his heart and he bit his cheek to choke down a sob. He heard a gasp somewhere but he paid it no mind. All he wanted, all he needed, was the one person in his arms.
"How are you doing? Are you doing okay?"
"Y-yeah… I'm fine."
"Did you eat your vegetables? Did you brush your teeth properly?"
He nodded, still with closed eyes, feeling her warm breath upon his chest. He felt his sister smile as she nuzzled closer.
"... You kept your promise," she pulled back and took in the various changes that appeared in the three years she had been asleep. "I don't regret what I did that day, and I will do it again and again for you… but to endure all these lonely years… my little brother, it must have been difficult."
His breath caught within his throat. Time stood still as his mind ran in unheard speeds as he tried to immortalize this moment in his memories. The tears he had been trying - and failing - to hold back flowed freely. It was as if an arrow had pierced his heart and he could not help but release all the burdens in his chest.
He ignored the medical personnel that rushed into his sister's room. They did not exist in his mind. All that mattered was the young woman within his arms.
All his relief, all of his grief, he showed them all to his sister with his tears as she cradled his head to the crook of her neck.
"Yeah."
Okay... second fic is a go! Yeah, I don't really know what I was thinking when I decided to make this a Campione! multi-cross fic. Hope I don't go insane trying to fit as many different mechanics as I can.
... Or, I can just make this an AU? Ah, I don't know what I am doing!!!
Anyway, hope some people enjoy this.