Bell Cranel
13:16
Crap. Losing blood. Too much blood.
Despite the cold atmosphere, I don't know what went through my mind when I thought it was a good idea not to dodge. To be fair, my stunned state didn't help in the slightest.
Still, it was reckless of me to get too cocky, and I paid the price. If it's any reward, I now have a demon's spine, a prickly item that can be fashioned into a whip of sorts, maybe but probably not.
Dropping the bone to the ground, the rest of my body followed along with it, staring into the clear afternoon sky. Things have not gone according to plan, and I was bleeding out really quickly. Napaea had gone to get help from the others, but I don't think it's coming with their fight still ongoing.
Numbness swiftly befell me, as my temperature quickly dropped. Regret tainted my view of the last five minutes, seeing it as a failure. The things I could've done, the actions I should not have taken, these struck at my dying heart. My eyes grew tired, the fatigue catching up to me. Despair that such a weak monster was the one to do me in. End of the line for a faker trying to emulate a great hero.
"No! Screw this!" I shouted into the air absent-mindedly before coughing up another mouthful of blood. "I want to live… Please, it's so cold~…" That was the last of my strength before closing my eyes.
…
Where am I now?
This place was a black void as far as the eye could see. A floor existed, but there didn't appear to be any walls, or even lights for that matter. All except for the towering goddess looming behind me.
Out of the corner of my eye, a figure flashed and flickered, as if to be illuminated by a dying flame. It smelt of rot and decay, cast out of purity unlike what most deities are depicted as.
"A god of death?" I quietly muttered, terrified of turning back, lest I face whatever loomed closely by. It was like an animal ready to ambush its prey, and I was the rabbit stuck in the jaws of the beast.
Strolling forward in a casual pace, I tried to keep a stoic expression to keep my mind off the threat. But with every step I took, a literal weight mounted on my shoulders. Nothing was there, so what was the issue? Confusion muddled my thoughts as I kept on treading along.
Eventually, it got to the point where I could go no longer. A brick wall standing between me and more darkness. Turning back was impossible, not unless I peek at the abyss behind me, and who knows what lies there. An aching fear consuming my thoughts, shivers repeatedly tingling my back, warning me of what was to come.
But I ignored all that like all the cautionary advice given to me during the lockdown. It was this or spending an eternity is this hell hole and I refuse to do that. Following through with this, I looked back around, only to find nothing there at all. It was all just an illusion, a trick made… in my last moments alive.
This place wasn't the abyss like I had thought it was, no, it was limbo, the bridge between life and death.
If myths, demons, and like existed, there certainly had to be an afterlife. So then, what, or who was standing behind me just a moment ago? Hades? Satan? Lucifer? All of these thoughts passed through my head before the figure appeared once more.
The smell came from the rotting flesh, dangling off it. A body disfigured, mauled like a dead animal. Whose ribcage was left wide open, empty save for the spine connect the two halves. And overhead was the decaying visage of a woman, withering away with the sand of time.
Falling back on my ass, I tried to crawl back, away from this monstrosity. Thoughts and ideas sprouted in my mind, each more disturbing and distracting than the last.
It was a monster sent here to take my soul.
It was a demon who just so happened to stumble upon me, seeing me as useful "entertainment".
It was the devil himself, someone who would do all of the above.
Absolutely terrified, I tried looking for an exit, only to be drawn towards it, face to face. "No, no, no, no, no, no!" I denied, trying to pull myself out of whatever hold I was in. Grasping at an invisible hand that wasn't even there.
"Human, this is my domain, how could you possibly escape here without my permission?" A feminine voice questioned from the shadows, likely the boss of whatever this thing is. "Hm? How interesting, for a Bel to have come into my domain… interesting. Don't you think so as well? To have ran into me before meeting any of the denizens is astonishing, even if the power you have obtained is so minuscule. Perhaps it has something to do with your second soul, the soul of a human turned demon, just like that boy, Abel."
"Huh? I know these powers are foreign to my own, but could you repeat that again? Where did it come from?" I begged the deity, seeing as she had my life in the palm of her hand.
"Fufufu~. Amusing, to be unknown in regards to something that has always been a part of you. Are you perhaps unaware of your status as a reincarnator? Those that have mistakenly escaped the cycle of destruction. They occasionally sprout up in many worlds across the Amala Network, unknowingly or not. And yours seems to have traveled from another multiverse entirely, an old jaded king who has long since outlived his glory days." The being answered, pulling out a white bead from within my body and examining it.
"Not only that, but you yourself have taken his name as your own. Isn't that right, Sh-"Before she could continue, I cut her off immediately on complete reflex.
"No. I… refuse to acknowledge that name any further. This… these new set of memories, instincts, friends, and foes, this is the life I want myself to lead. There's no way I can go back anymore… not after this."
"Hn." She huffed. "Usually people reject this kind of transformation, wanting to return back to their previous human lives and ignoring what came before. Fascinating of you to break away from such trend. Very well, child, I shall join you, if only to sate my curiosity. But, I will need to return to the world of the living, my form isn't exactly… whole as you can see." She commented, the flickering light finally alluding to who she was.
"But that is not all," She announced, her tone growing more serious. "we are trapped here in this realm, and though I may be the ruler, I am also its prisoner, forever stuck in this place after that bastard damned me here for eternity."
"Oh? And who is this? If you don't mind me asking anyway."
"Why of course, it was Izanagi. That lying bastard said he would come back for me. And here we are, how many years later and still in this shithole. But you'll help me out, right? I know I can make it worth your while." A shiver is sent down my spine at the insinuation. Ignoring her current appearance right now, she was still a goddess at heart, and nothing would change that. Also, she's what?
History class, you better not fail me now. Right, so there were two deities that created Japan, Izanami, and Izanagi. Therefore, the person in front of me would be the former, the goddess of death.
"What have I gotten myself into this time!" I jokingly stated, looking around the abyss, only to find several eyes peering at us.
"Alright, I have been concocting a scheme of sorts. The likelihood of success may be low, but it is definitely better than nothing. And as you are right now, the stars have aligned just perfectly to begin. I will revive you, just this once, any more than that and I break the natural order of the world. When you arrive at your body, you must seek out the girl of song, Yoshino Harusawa. She is the perfect vessel to inhabit and an invaluable asset to amassing an army. Failure to do as I ask will do no good for you in the long run, so it's best to follow along with my plan. Unless you wish to venture into this realm again." Izanami debriefed, laying out her plan, and the consequences if I fail.
"Sounds good, when do we start?"
"Now."
Chanting several lines, the clangs of bells accompanied her words as the ringing swirled my sense of reality, breaking me through a kaleidoscopic fever dream through worlds.
Project: Megami Tensei was a go!
[A/N: Planning? Well thought out story? Fuck that, I'm going use shower thoughts.]