Chapter 1
You died.
"Huh?" My limbs felt heavy, but the blunt words still echoed into my brain while the voice recalled a fate I vaguely remembered.
"Moron, you died, along with everyone else in your world...guess a big war will do that, do you." The voice dug into my brain more. Despite its echo, it didn't sound omniscient. Instead, it felt like it came from inside my skull.
I blinked for a second, the moon coming into view. But it felt off like it wasn't the moon from earth, but one from a far-away land. "Everyone's...dead?"
"Yep!" The voice sounded all too gleeful to respond. "Everyone you loved is gone, but on the plus side, so is everyone you hate. So it kind of evens out!"
Silence, my arm slowly lifting above my head. I noticed markings across my body. And my complexion turning unnaturally pale, prompting a strange feeling to stir in the depths of my stomach.
"Well, happy second birthday!" The voice laughed. "Now get up! Your soul was the only compatible one. Perhaps it's because you're from another world."
I sat up, noticing a lack of a shirt. The forest around me blew icy wind in every direction. "Who are you?" I said aloud, wondering who the voice in the back of my skull could be.
"Hmm, call me an ally, but enough about that. Because today is a special day because you've been picked to supersede the Four Demon Gods..."
Now the voice merely began to speak nonsense. I part of me wondered if I was dreaming. But the coldness of the air told me this was reality. "Well, whoever, or whatever you are, can you tell me where I am?"
The voice laughed. Its childlike tone sent a chill down my spine. "Earthland, though this exact location was formerly known as the Luka Continent, though that was thousands of years ago."
Earthland, why did such a name ring a bell. Hell, even Luka Continent felt eerily familiar. Like a story, I held fondly to my heart. I took a few steps forward, placing my hand on the nearby tree. Then, suddenly a strange tingling in my brain went off.
"Ah! A demon is nearby! I knew planting ourselves here would bear fruit!" The voice gleeful exclaimed. "Demon Card will be resurrected soon, but until then, why don't we start by getting you to make your first pact."
Again, they were throwing around vaguely familiar terms. "A demon? Shouldn't I run away?" While I still was trying to wrap my head around where I was, I didn't want to be anywhere near a creature that called itself a demon.
"No, moron! Do you see that faint light in the distance? Something crashed there right before you awoke. It must be the demon! If you can make a pact with it, you'll be one step closer to making both of our dreams come true."
The voice blabbered on, making many assumptions about me. And while I wanted to ignore it, I didn't have many other choices but to follow its instructions. "By the name, my name is Roy..." I finally gave it my name.
"I know. I dug through your mind a bit." The voice replied, sending a shiver down my spine and heart. I wouldn't say I liked the idea of anyone reading my thoughts, let alone a random voice that may or may not be a signal of my degenerating sanity.
I opted not to ask any more questions, sliding down the steep incline leading into a field. I quickly ducked behind a tree as the soft lights of torches lit up my retinas. From what I could see, a group must've made it here before me.
"Tsk, bandits, what good would a demon do mere humans? Take them out." The voice gave me a demand I had no intention of following.
"A-are you crazy? Those guys got swords!" The idea of being stabbed didn't appeal to me. "Plus, there are five of them. How would that even work?" The task seemed impossible, but I could sense the growing frustration in the voice.
"Idiot, dumbass! If you don't do as I say, I'll abandon you!" The harshness of the voice's words caused me to relent on my cowardice. I crept forward, taking a look at the bandit camp.
In the center of the camp appeared to be a strange crystal-like stone. While I couldn't see a lot due to night's darkness, I could tell a figure laid dormant inside the stone.
"Hehehe, this is great! We could sell this to a museum or something! Or maybe one of those dark guilds I keep hearing about." One of the bandits snorted. "Shame about the girl inside looks pretty ugly through..."
I couldn't understand what they were talking referring to, but that may have been due to my fear of facing them in combat. I scanned each one, weighing my options. None of them appeared to have any long-range weapons, but how do I even start a battle?"
"Kick their ass, Roy, just let your demonic nature guide you..." It sounded like a bunch of nonsense, but I couldn't disagree with it. I took a deep breath, my brain thinking of the proper order to take out my enemies.
"Okay... got it!" A trigger in my brain went off as I jumped from my hiding spot. Right when my feet left the ground, all the bandits turned to face me.
"W-what the hel-" He didn't even finish his statement as I clicked him over the head with my foot, sending him flying into a nearby tree. I didn't expect my attack to do so much damage, but I couldn't harp on it for long.
"S-shit, is it a mage?" The remaining four pointed their swords at me. "Like hell, we're going to give you this haul!" I didn't even have time to speak before they rushed me.
The muscles in my body tensed, and as if an outside force was controlling me, I struck each one of the bandits down as if they were ants going up against a lion. My fingers twitched before my eyes slowly descended on my crumpled foes lying in a heap.
"Lalalalala! See, didn't I tell you? Now let us collect our prize!" The voice giggled, my eyes drawn to the crystal in the center of the camp.
Upon further examination, I noticed a girl trapped inside. She looked like a strange scientist of sorts, with horns shaped like bunny ears on the top of her head. However, her most striking features were the strange tie, which had 1/16 on it, and her awful haircut.
"Hmm, solidified Ethernano, you should be able to absorb it into your body. Why not try it out?" The voice said. I still had no idea what was going on, but I decided I needed to leave as quickly as possible.
I took a deep breath and pressed my hand against the crystal. My heart skipped a beat while the hardened substance scattered like dust in the wind. Then, with an unelegant flop, the stranged horned woman flopped on the ground.
"What's this...gross! This is an artificial demon!" The mixture of disgust and frustration filled the inflections of the voice. "Crush its head, and eat it!"
"What? No!" I snapped, my slender finger poking the woman's cheek. She looked familiar. The folds in my brain pulsated, trying to tell me who the woman before me was. "Damn it, hope she wakes up soon..." I picked up the strange woman before my eyes and placed her on my shoulder. Honestly, it shocked me just how light she felt. Either she was nothing but skin and bone, or I've gotten far stronger for some reason.
"Tsk, a demon is a demon, even if it was made by that piece of trash, Zeref." The demon stated a name I recalled again, but she continued her rant before I could inquire further. "Listen, find a good spot. I do remember there is a town nearby. Take some money from these pieces of garbage."
At least the voice understood necessities like cash. I took the time to rummage through the bandits' pockets, taking out bills with odd symbols on them. Slowly but surely, my brain began to piece together where I was, a place that didn't exist. "Hey, if you don't mind me asking... who are you?"
My simple question prompted the voice to laugh. "I could tell you my name, but that has been destroyed as well. My name is #$*&$% #!."
"W-what?" The voice said something, but it merely came out unpronounceable static. Or rather, that was what my brain defaulted to.
"See? Though I shall give myself a new name for the time being. Call me Seldsen, and I am a being which destroys false history." The pride in which she referred to her title made me a bit skeptical. But it also ruled out the possibility of her being a figment of my imagination.
"Seldsen, what do you want from me?" I asked, walking in a seemingly random direction. I've already beaten everyone up and mugged them. I didn't want to be hanging around once they came to their senses. Besides, I wanted to reach the nearby town before the sun rose.
Seldsen snorted. "I want to... complete myself. And you're going to help me. I saved your life, so you got to do what I say from here on out. Or at least until we get all the pieces of my body back."
I began to understand the situation a bit more. The voice didn't save my life out of the kindness of her heart. Instead, it wanted something from me. A fair exchange if Seldsen did save my life.
"Fine, I get it. It's the least I can do." I didn't feel the need to question the voice in my head. If it was a different lifeform talking to me, then she probably had more information on my current situation than I did.
I walked through the dark forest. My brain was keeping a lookout for any source of light in the distance. Seldsen kept quiet, making a seemingly lonely trip even lonelier. Even if I happened to be carrying a weird demon woman on my shoulders, someone to chat with would have been nice.
After what felt like an eternity, I finally stopped. "Feels like I'm going nowhere fast..." I set the girl down against a nearby tree before I did the same. I lacked any map, and for all, I knew I could be heading in the wrong direction. "Hey Seldsen, do you think you can help me?"
"Er, perhaps... though everything you see is what I see. It may be best to rest your body, as well as your skull, for the time being. It does give me some more time to discuss a few more things with you." Shockingly, Seldsen responded to my plea, though I had a distinct feeling she would dump a lot of information on me at once.
"You said something about making pacts with demons? What does that mean?" I decided to take the initiative and ask the first question. At least then, I'd be able to set the pace of the proceeding topics.
"Fine, fine, I suppose telling you now will save me the headache from having to explain it to you later." Seldsen cleared her throat, which was impressive since she was just a voice in my head. "A pact is a pact. It is an agreement between two beings to support one another. Most pacts, like the ones those worthless spirits make, can be done with specific items."
By worthless spirits, she must have meant the celestial spirits. Guess I somehow managed to end up in Earthland. "So how do demons make their pacts?"
"Tsk, simple, by the exchange of body fluids. Either through saliva, blood, or the stuff that comes out between your legs." Seldsen's words caused my face to turn a bright red. It didn't take a genius to know what she was referring to with that last part.
"A-anyway, what benefits does making pacts do?" There must have been some upsides unless being facebook friends also counted as a pact.
Seldsen let out an irritated huff. "Of course, there are a few, far too many to count. Even more so due to your...unique biology. But I'll keep things simple. Making a pact with a demon allows you access to their magic, along with certain physical traits. On the flip side, you can permanently increase their strength using demon particles from battle."
"Demon particles?" I felt a bit confused by the term. I knew Fairy Tail decently well, at least the significant arcs and characters and how one flowed into the other. But my brain often lapsed on the smaller details.
"Moron~ it's how you get stronger. Every time a demon enters a battle, win or lose, they generate demon particles in their body. Once stored, they can either be transferred throughout the host, making them more powerful, or transferred to another demon, causing the same effect. The boost in power is permanent, but once particles are spent, they are gone for good."
"Oh, like EXP from an RPG!" My voice raised a bit in excitement. It felt odd to apply such abstract mechanics to a physical place. But it did help me make sense of the whole situation better.
"EXP, RPG? I Don't know what those are. Regardless, you should have gained a few demon particles from your battle with that trash. Why not try and use them on yourself right quick. I doubt it was a lot, but it could provide an example."
Seldsen's words prompted me to ponder. Sure, I could compare demon particles to EXP, but I didn't have a handy menu to dole out skill points. Still, with a deep breath, I pressed my hand against my chest and tried to transfer 'something.'
Then, as if someone had set a trigger off in my brain, I felt a small burst of power flow through me. My hands shook as a faint light enveloped my fingertips and faded. "Huh, I feel a bit stronger..." I couldn't put the feeling into words.
"Huh, you managed to figure it out on your own. I'd have to go into a long diatribe about how the system works...now, shall I suggest you make a pact with that artificial demon over there?"
My eyes wandered to the sleeping horned demon. Now that I got a better look, her head seemed somewhat squared. Perhaps due to her choice of hairstyle. "Before that, I want you to tell me more about your plan, as well as your goal."
"Hmm? Don't you think you are asking for too much information?" By her tone, I could tell Seldsen was growing tired of explaining things to me. An outcome I figured would happen sooner or later.
"I get it... we'll talk about it later." I sighed, giving the sleeping demon my undivided attention. I needed to find a way to wake her up without startling her. I pressed my hand against my chest, realizing I still had a few demon particles left. Not enough to make a difference, but enough that it may jolt her awake.
So I gripped her head and took another deep breath. I transferred what I had left into the demon's body, her body flinching and twitching comedically as I did. For a second, I thought I might have fried her brain until her eyes snapped open.
She looked up at me with her beady purple eyes. I expected her to scream, but instead, she said something that took me off-guard. "Ack, a hot demon has appeared before me! Had my womanly scent attracted you?"
"H-hot?" Again, my face turned red before I quickly shook my head. "N-no, we- er, I found you in a chunk of Ethernano, I broke you out..."
The demon looked at me before she scrambled to her feet, her long labcoat flowing behind her. "A-Ack, that's right! I was doing some experiments, and I must have fallen out of the CUBE!" She let out a short cry as she turned to face me. "Ah, Lady Kyoka must have sent you to retrieve me!"
The sheer excitement in her voice nearly masked the critical piece of information she just gave me. While I may not have known all the details of Fairy Tail, I recalled the name Kyoka, and by extension, the demon in front of me as well. "Wait, you're Lamy!"
The demon snorted and scratched the back of the head. "W-wow, mostly only the Nine-Demon gates get recognition!" Lamy continued to pat herself on the back, almost making me feel guilty for what I was about to say next.
"Yeah, you could say that...but I wasn't sent by Kyoka or anyone else. I just ended up finding you by chance," I said, trying my best to segway into making a pact. "But, I can get you home if you help me with something."
Lamy tilted her head and brushed off her jacket. "Oh! A bribe! Well, I usually should refuse, but since it's a hot guy asking me, I'll listen." I was almost positive she'd accept a bribe no matter whom it came from.
"I'd like you to make a pact with me." I just came right out and said it like a child ripping off a band-aid. Of course, Seldsen had to chime in.
"Be careful, Roy. Demons often want a display of strength before they make a pact. Don't expect one to roll over and make a pact with you just because you asked ni-"
"Okay, sure!" Lamy snorted, her arms waving around like noodles. "I heard from the others about the power demons could get from pacts, plus if a hot guy asks, I'll do anything!" Lamy admitted to something pretty pathetic, but in this situation, beggars couldn't be choosers.
"G-great, now let me just think of a way to make the pact." I wasn't shy about blood, but it's not like I had a knife on hand to cut my finger. My brain pondered on how we could do this without making it awkward. Sadly Lamy solved the problem in one fell swoop. Before I could even think of something, she pressed her lips to mine, shoving her tongue into my mouth.
I twitched as our lips parted, the strange-looking demon letting out a goofy laugh once we finished swapping saliva. "Uhuhuhuh! I managed to sneak a kiss from a cute guy~."
"H-hey, at least give me a warning before you do something like th-" I couldn't even finish my sentence as something crept into my brain. Like a thousand voices, all belonging to Lamy saying random words and phrases.
Did she do something to me? No, from the confused look the Tartaros demon gave me, it appeared she had no idea what was going on.
"Ah, yes, demon whispers. Fear not, Roy. It is merely this doll's magic or curse being transferred over to you. Once you get used to it, you may even find the process...enjoyable..." Seldsen giggled, prompting me to shake my head. While I wanted to respond to the voice, I opted to keep my mouth shut, lest I come across as an insane person in front of Lamy.
"D-did my kiss drive you insane with pleasure?" Lamy's comment snapped me back to reality.
"No, I just got a bit lightheaded, that's all." I snorted before looking at the markings across my body. They faintly glowed before returning to their dull coloration. "By the way, my name is Roy..." I decided to change the subject.
"Roy..." Lamy's face scrunched up. "Ah, what a dull name. We'll have to fix that later." I didn't know what the scientist meant by that, but I decided not to ask her. All those questions could be saved until later after all.
"Anyway, Lamy, we should probably reach the next town first. I don't have any money, but even staying on the street is better than hanging out in the woods." I also needed to remember that the bandits I beat up were still out there. Meaning if we stayed in the forest, we might come across them.
"No money? Does that make me your sugar mama?" The moment those words escaped Lamy's mouth, I physically recoiled in disgust.
"Don't ever say that again..." I said, my body relaxing, if only for a moment. I still didn't know all the details of why I was here or what I had to do. I just had to pray Seldsen would give me more information as we went along.
Author Note
Another concept I wanted to play with since the idea of demons isn't really explored. There were be some ties to Rave Master, of course, but I don't inherently think you need to read that to understand this story.
Though those who have read it would probably already know Seldsen's real identity and her goal.
