Once upon a time . . . there was a princess named Shiki. Born to loving parents and three blessings gifted by three fairy godparents. She had everything she ever wanted. Except for one thing, beauty. As she grew older she noticed how many men had come from far and wide to attempt to romance her best friend and handmaid, Eri. Everyone admired her natural beauty. Shiki helped her friend ward off her suitors with the help of the royal guard, but with each suitor that came for Eri's hand, Shiki gained a new feeling within her, envy.

Not a single soul came to Shiki for love, only her handmaid. Shiki began to despise herself, her boring black hair, her eyeglasses, any minor imperfection fueled Shiki's self-loathing. She wished every night to gain even a fraction of Eri's beauty. And one day, it seemed someone finally had an answer. Shiki awoke one night to see a glowing green orb floating in her room. The orb guided to a hidden passageway within the Misaki castle. At the end of the passageway lied a mirror facing away from the princess, and a spindle.

"Prick your finger on the spindle, and I'll grant you're desire no matter how mountainous." a disembodied voice spoke. The mirror turns to face Shiki, revealing a false reflection. The person in the mirror wore her clothes and copied Shiki's movements exactly, but Shiki's face had been replaced, with that of her closest friend, Eri. Shiki looks at her false reflection, then at the spindle. All she ever wanted, was in her reach. She reached her hand out to the spindle and pricked herself on her pointer finger. She fell to the floor as she gained a strange feeling. Collapsed as the curse flowed through her body. She closed her eyes as laughter booms, for she had entered eternal sleep. The sun rose and the castle was in panic, Shiki was unmoving. Fearing the worst, the three godparents fled, for an individual, who could lift the reaper's curse.

In a neighboring kingdom, a young prince slept. The blinds protected the boy, allowing him to slumber longer. This prince's name was Neku, and he was quite the enigma, for he had turned away every suitress who came his way. His brash rejection only led to more suitresses, to his dismay. The three godparents arrived and saw him slumbered, but some questioned the viability of this option.

"Yo, you think this guy fits the bill?" Asked Beat, the second godfather.

"I sense darkness and secrets in his heart. Perhaps we should search for a different proxy?" Joshua, the first godfather, suggested.

"No, I think he can do it. . . . After all, opportunities don't happen, you create them . . ." said the godmother, Rhyme. With the wave of her wand Rhyme casts a spell on the sleeping Neku.

Neku dreams a strange dream, he sees a vague image of a sleeping beauty locked away in a dark castle. The three fairy godparents disappear as the prince awakens from his dream.

"Who was that girl. . . is she real? Or is it all in my head?" Neku asked himself. The prince thinks to himself, before exiting his room. Not long later, the three fairy godparents watch as the prince takes a blade and steed and rides into the woods, making his way to the neighboring kingdom ruled by the Misaki clan.

The godparents followed as the prince travels through the woods, as he rides it begins to grow dark. Prince Neku is forced to set up camp and wait till morning to search for the princess he had seen in his dream. Unbeknownst to the prince, this is exactly what the reaper had been waiting for. It wasn't long until he was bound and surrounded by detestable creatures, lead by one cloaked man.

"Well, what is a lost zeptogram like you doing here?" asks the man. Neku couldn't speak due to his gag. The reaper commands his beasts to guide their pawn to the forbidden mountain.

"This looks bad yo, what do we do?" Beat asked.

"It's failure that gives you the proper perspective on success. We'll need to save him and try again." Rhyme said.

"Bravo Rhyme. You are absolutely correct. We'll head to the forbidden mountain and save Neku before Sho can find a way to use him." said Joshua. The three fairy godparents fly off as they make their way to the Sho's abode.

The prince struggles, trying with all his might to free himself from his shackles, but alas, flesh is weaker than metal. Neku is barely holding onto hope when he sees the three lights descending into his cell. The three godparents cast a spell and in a flash, the gates to the cell open wide, and the shackles turn to dust. The three godparents float down to Neku's level, and hand him small disc-like objects, with designs painted on one side.

"Take these charms yo! They'll help you deal with Sho's lackeys!" Beat exclaimed

"Follow us, we can take you to princess Shiki," said Rhyme. The young prince nods, taking the charms and following the fairy godparents. The fairies assist Neku whenever he encounters one of Sho's taboo beasts. With them by his side and with the power of his new charms, Neku clashed through the castle and escapes the forbidden mountain.

The reaper watches from atop his castle as his adversaries make their way to the Misaki castle.

"You're out of your vector!" he says laughing, as he raises an arm and cast a spell of his own. A storm brews above the castle as massive black vines grow on the bridge leading to the castle, blocking Neku's path to the princess. From a cloud of smoke, Sho appears before the prince and the fairies.

"Attention all yoctograms! It's time for you to get divided by zero!" Sho exclaimed. Sho engages Neku in battle. Casting spells and teleporting around as Neku fights back with the charms gifted to him by the fairies. After managing to blast Sho with a charm-based spell. Sho reveals his true form "This is my latest masterpiece. I call it "myself"! All that matters is MY Beauty!" Three pairs of wings sprouted from Sho before shattering, he turns dark before growing in size and revealing a form resembling a bipedal lion.

Neku struggled to ward off the beast. The prince is forced into a corner as he's overpowered by Sho. He would be done for, but Beat, Rhyme, and Joshua come to his aid. The three fairy godparents use their magic to lift him onto the peak of a nearby cliff face, before combining Neku's charms into one, and enchanting it with the most powerful spell they can muster. Sho leaps onto the cliff face and claws at Neku but was completely blown away by the cast of Neku's flare charm. Sho let out a roar as he fell back and disintegrated.

With Sho slain the black thorn-covered vines dissa[ear, and the storm begins to fade. The fairies quickly guide Neku to Misaki castle. He's led to the top of the highest tower in the castle. At the top of this tower is a single room, containing one thing, a bed, on which lies the slumbering princess. The three fairies back away as Neku approaches the girl he saw in his dream. He brushed her hair out of her face and looked at her in awe. He had never seen anyone so beautiful before. He took in every little detail of her face, every small thing that made her more beautiful in his eyes. Neku closed his eyes and leaned towards the sleeping beauty before him. As their lips connect, Shiki opens her eyes, she's shocked at the sight of the handsome prince in front of her.

Neku opened his eyes and pulled himself back away from Shiki, allowing her to collect her thoughts after such a long period of sleep. She looked around and noticed a mirror in the room. She frowned at the sight of her own reflection.

"Why. . . I did all this so I could be beautiful. . ."

"But you're already beautiful."

Shiki looked back to her prince, surprised to hear those words. Neku extended his arm and offered Shiki his hand. Shiki raised her hand and gently took his. Neku helped her out of the bed and the two looked into each other's eyes, expressing their love for one another without exchanging any more words

And they lived happily ever after. . .