Samsara: Fallen Intent Chapter 1

AN: I'm going to preface this by saying that this story relies on the first couple of chapters of Samsara: World's Apart, which diverged at the end of the third chapter into the scene below. If you can't be bothered to go and read it, here's a summary.

David, the main character, was inserted into the body of Liara when she was imprisoned in the Prothean Cell. After a little time spent like that getting her bearing, she was rescued by Shepard and the rest of the Normandy Ground crew, including Tali, Wrex, Garrus, Kaidan, and Ashley. The group then fought their way out of the ruin, reaching safety on the Normandy where Liara passed out.

If you just want to get to the DxD part of the story, you can scroll down past the second line, but you might miss a few bits. Anyway, the reason it's been split up like this is that I always intended to go this route, but leaving mass effect right after setting it up as I had wasn't fair to the readers and to myself. Seeing as I'd been tossing up just continuing in mass effect instead of jumping worlds, I decided to do both.

Without further ado, enjoy the show.


"Ahhhhhhhh," I groaned as light pierced my eyes, forcing me into awareness as I lifted my arm and placed it across my face, using it to block the infernal stimulant in an attempt to continue sleeping. The feeling I got from doing this however was not the one I expected.

As just before I'd passed out, manly, well, womanly I guess, I'd expected to wake up in the med bay under the tender care of Dr Karin Chakwas, the stern but graceful medical officer of the Normandy.

I rubbed my forearm across my face once more, letting the sensation of it assert where I was, or more accurately where I wasn't.

"Yep, that's body hair," I stated with confusion as I opened my eyes, lifting my arm up high enough to confirm my suspicions. You see, I didn't think I was in the beautiful, bodacious, blue body of Liara T'Soni anymore.

No, looking at my olive skin and the hair running all over my muscular forearm, I could very much say this wasn't Liara's arm.

It was mine.

Not mine as in I was inhabiting another new body like with Liara, but mine from the before. My original body. Every hefty kilogram of it that was packed into my more than 6-foot form. It was a shame too, as I had been coming to enjoy Liara's body.

The sensation of having real-life superpowers was hard to lose even if I was once more in my more comfortable gender.

"Welcome."

Of course, there was always the welcome distraction of a strange voice speaking in your ear. The sound of it made me twitch as I looked over the right, sweeping my gaze across the eye-watering expanse of space that entailed a mixture of colours that were swirling chaotically together. Standing in the middle of it all was a large, shadowy figure.

Being was the right word for it too, as while they were vaguely humanoid, I couldn't really make anything else out due to the simple fact that they were obscured in shadows.

Wait, hang on a second. I looked a little closure, observing the soft, vague contours of their body. Not obscured in shadow, they were the shadow. The source of it. Even now I could see small wisps of black mist waft off of them, dissipating into the colour-splattered void around us.

"Ah…hello?" I replied a little awkwardly as I got up from the bed I had been lying on, doing my best not to stare as the black piece of furniture dissipated into opaque smoke that zipped over to rejoin the main mass of the mysterious being.

Did that just mean I was using them as a bed? Like some kind of advanced version of the lap pillow?

I grimaced. Damn intrusive thoughts.

"Hello indeed," The being chuckled as the lifted a shadowy arm, curling a single finger back towards them. "Come, get a little closer. I won't hurt you."

Yes, because those words combined with the creepy actions were sure to comfort my sense of paranoia, I snarked mentally. Still, I moved closer anyway seeing as they were likely the reason I was both here and had been in Liara's body. If they were, they were likely very powerful because of it.

The being had appeared some distance away, so I took the opportunity to inspect myself as I moved closer, starting at the bottom and moving to the top.

My feet, which were bare, were fine, but I was glad to see I was wearing a pair of black chinos and a pale green shirt. Good, standing naked while conversing with an otherworldly, powered being would have been awkward. I wasn't an exhibitionist after all.

Moving further up, I confirmed that I did have my beard again, which I quickly stroked a couple of times in satisfaction in sync with my footsteps. It had been the one thing I thought I would miss while in Liara's body. Well, aside from my dick of course, but surprisingly it was still my beard that had come out on top.

"I trust you enjoyed your time as Liara T'soni?" The being spoke before I could say anything, causing me to stop a few paces away from them.

"Y-Yes," I coughed, hoping that they hadn't been watching too closely. "It was something else, although I could have dealt without the days of imprisonment. Am I going back there, or is the fact that I'm in my old body an indication of something else?"

"Somewhere else I'm afraid," The being chuckled as I slumped, fighting the urge to give a whine of disappointment that had so often left Liara's lips. But, I was not Liara, despite how many of her memories I possessed. "As for why you were imprisoned…people tend to have issues when finding themselves in such a new, different place. Often, they need time to calm down and digest their new environment. Time to adapt. This is an action which can be quite dangerous if they do so in the middle of a high-conflict environment, so I devised a solution that still gave the time to process. If this just so happens to be somewhere they can't move, well," The being shrugged.

Yes, funny how people would be annoyed at waking up in a new place. I couldn't think of a single reason as to why. Still, I kept the frown off my face, unwilling to express what I was feeling. Sure, I could go off at…whoever this fucker is, but what would be the point?

Maybe I'd feel better, which was somewhat of a reason that I was tempted to indulge in, but would the cost of such an outburst be worth it? Would my satisfaction be worth whatever fee this being would extract in recompense?

No, I don't think so. My curiosity, however...now that just might be worth it.

"If not back to the Normandy, then where? Where are you going to put me next? Back in my old world? Or another strange, confusing place?"

"Why, your next world of course." The being replied easily, its black, shadowing face contorting briefly into what I thought could have been a smile, but I was unsure of it due to the being's state of obscurification. "The next in your cycle."

I…did not expect such a blunt reply. My next world? The next world in my cycle? The hell kind of answer was that? Was I just going to be jerked around, strung around like some marionette on this puppet master's strings? It brought up a lot of unanswered questions.

"If I'm going to my next world, just how many worlds are in this cycle then? As I approach what I think is the end, are you going to pull the rug out from under my feet by adding more? Are you going to turn me into your own personal dancing monkey, one that follows your tune?" I demanded, taking a step forward as frustration warped my features, causing my mouth to form a grimace as my forehead creased.

I couldn't get too far, however, as a softly risen hand was held towards me, one that spilt out a number of rope-like shadows that wrapped themselves around me, wrapping me tightly in their embrace as my movements became restricted.

I grunted as I tried to free my arm, causing my shoulder to jerk forward as I was rewarded with merely an ache in my joint.

"Calm down, David. This is no place to get angry," The bastard chimed, waggling his finger in front of me in admonishment before they tilted their head. "And to answer the question, there are 9 worlds on your cycle. No more, no less."

The admission paused my struggles (and my building fear), leaving me with one shoulder contorted to the side as I looked forward at the being in stunned silence. 9 worlds? I was going to move between 9 separate, fucking worlds?

Uncaring of my state of surprise, the being folded their arms behind their back as they began to pace around me in a circle. As it did, I found myself lifted in the air, slowly rotating to match their gait.

"Your time in Mass Effect was merely the first of the nine and the shortest and most brief of the bunch. A taste, if you will, of just what you will experience. A glimpse into what I will have you do as you spend time in each of my chosen worlds."

The being paused, turning to face me directly as a distinctly sinister aura began to hover around them.

"Each will have a goal that I give you, a purpose that you must accomplish during your time in that world."

"Yeah? And just why should I complete these tasks? Why makes you think I'm just going to run along and do what you ask?" I returned, defiant despite my state of helplessness. It was a belief I had long held. If cooperating didn't come with some sort of benefit, whether internal or external, why make things easier for other people? Sure, it had caused some people in the past to see me as an asshole but fuck 'em. People would do that to anyone regardless as long as you held some sense of self-worth, so might as well get some satisfaction out of it.

"Why, for the rewards that come with them of course!" The being yelled out in jubilation, spreading their arms outwards in a display as if they were some kind of showman. I didn't let my inner feeling show, however, making the being sigh after a second and return to its neural posture as it explained. "Each mission that you accomplish will deposit on you its gifts, your just desserts for doing so well. The reward for fulfilling your quest. Don't expect that all of these tasks will be as easy as your first one, however. After all, what is a story without its hardships? What is a journey without its turmoils?"

The being didn't bother to give me a chance to respond as it answered itself.

"Boring of course." They nodded, holding their arm out and twirling their finger, making me rise before floating closer as they threw their arm around me, forcing me to lean into their tall, dark embrace as I grimaced.

The feeling of their body was…otherworldly was the best way I could describe it. It was both soft and firm. Giving and taking. Warm and cold. The feeling of the shadowing flesh…was unnatural, and it was weirding me out.

"I'd keep an eye out for when you get to your last one, however, as it's going to be a doozy." The being grinned wildly as it loomed down upon me, filling up my point of view before I found myself spinning, my vision shaking as I came to a stop before I realised the being had moved away from me.

I could accept a little bit of dizziness if it meant not being so close, but it didn't relieve my frustration at the situation. At how utterly at the bastard's mercy I was. I could keep a lid on it for now though as I focused on what it had been saying earlier.

"You said that inhabiting Liara was the first of my nine worlds, right? Well the task you gave me was to reach the Normandy alive. And as you can see," I said with a sneer, holding my arms out at my side when I realised the bindings were now gone, "I'm still here."

"Yes, yes you are," the being said, reaching forward to tap me on the nose with a far too long arm as I reeled back, trying to ignore how the lift in its voice made it seem like I was something cute, something to dote on rather than the large, hairy man that I actually was.

"And rewarded you will be," the being chuckled as it held its hand up at shoulder height, palm facing the ground before it flipped its hand around, a ball of purple energy filling its grip in a sleight of hand. "Your reward, young David. For surviving your first real battle, you receive this: the ability to halve your mass at the cost of increased stamina."

Staring at the ball, I couldn't help but think that it looked exactly like when I was using my biotics as Liara, the chaotic, swirling energy warping the space around itself. My focus on this is probably what caused me to be caught unaware when the being suddenly shot its hand forward, pushing the crackling ball of energy palm first into my chest as a tingling sensation filled it, pins and needles radiating away from the core of my being down into the tips of my extremities.

"The fuck man?!"

The being didn't answer me as I patted myself down, feeling for any injuries as the tingling I was feeling started to subside, receding to a barely noticeable level that I felt like I could activate when desired.

"Well, everything seems fine," I muttered before turning to glare up at the being that had been waiting for me, unconcerned at my prodding as it negligently looked at its hand, inspecting its shadowy nails.

"So, are there any other questions you have before I send you on your way?"

I guess we're just going to ignore what happened then. Prick.

"Yeah, I got a question. Why? Why are you doing this? What possible benefit could you be getting out of this?"

"Why, the greatest benefit of all!" The being yelled, placing its hands on its hips as it grinned down at me. "Entertainment!"

"Entertainment?" I echoed, the sound of my voice reverberating in the otherwise silent void as I fought to keep my irritation down, to not explode up at the being that had just imbued me with some kind of supernatural power.

"You're doing all this…for entertainment? All this bullshit of dangling me around, of throwing me to foreign worlds…you're doing it because you're bored?" A dangerous lift had appeared in my voice without my knowing as I said this.

"Yes." The being nodded.

One that was ignored.

"Why?!"

Here, the being's shoulders slumped, its mannerisms turning despondent.

"Let me ask you this, my agitated friend."

Well, at least it had picked up on that, even if it hadn't responded to it.

"Imagine you have all the power in the world, all the power you could possibly want. You seek to devastate an enemy in a fight? You can do it in a heartbeat. Explore previously inhospitable places at the drop of a hat?"

The being snapped its fingers, the crack travelling outwards in a dome.

"You can do so with no hesitation. Imagine if every little inconvenience that ever assaulted you, every little thing that used to bother you, you can now deal with in an instant. In a moment. That is the situation I face, the dilemma I must cross."

A dilemma? How is that a dilemma? To be honest that sounds great. Hell, I'd really appreciate that right about now so I could deal with this asshole.

The being must have seen the confusion on my face as they paused, collecting their thoughts as they stroked their chin.

"Aliken it to money, if you will, a concept you can more easily understand. Say that one day, you wake up and have the burning desire to have it all. A desire so strong that at that very instant, you decide you will become the richest person in existence. For the next twenty years of your life, you pursue this goal. You start small, taking random jobs that pay little but provide you with a stepping point, allowing you to get to better and better jobs. Because of it, your wealth increases, and your lifestyle improves. What's that? You now have some disposable income? Well, might as well invest it. It's not like you need it right now. Then you continue to do this, continue to build up your wealth until your name echoes among the greats as billions of people envy you. You have what you once desired, all the money you could possibly want." The being reached out in front of it, curling its hand into a fist as if it was grasping the very thing it described.

The being paused to let me digest its words, leaving me wondering where it was going with this because right now, it's sounding pretty damn good.

"My question is this. Now that you have all this money...what comes next? What are you going to do with it?"

"Well, if you no longer need to make any more money…" I trailed off in thought before shrugging. "You can start to spend it."

"Exactly!" The Being said with exuberance as it pointed at me. "Money is only worth something if you spend it, otherwise it's just useless numbers. Power is the same in that, what good is it all if you can't flex it when you want?"

That was true I suppose, I thought with a slow, hesitant nod as I began to see where this was going.

"So, one day I had this little idea to both let me flex my abilities, and cure myself of the boredom I have been facing. The idea is this: reality tv is such a common form of entertainment among the mortals, so why can't I have my own version? Where instead of some idealised form of reality, I simply insert someone into one of my favourite realities and see what they do. I like to think of it as reality tv taken to 11, and guess who the lucky star of the show is?"

Me. It was me, I thought numbly in realisation before a wave of anger washed through my mind, threatening to engulf everything as I attempted to fight it off. I'd had a lot of practice at it, and my time as Liara was certainly helping, but despite my best efforts, I couldn't do it.

I couldn't suppress the righteous anger I was feeling at being this… bastard's play toy.

I opened my mouth to yell at them, clenching my fists as my eyes started glinting murderously, but before I could I found myself frozen by a wave of its hand, stuck mid-exclamation.

"Well, as fun as this was, we're running on a bit of a schedule, so I think this is going to be goodbye for now. Make sure to have some fun in your new body David."

And like that, another wave of its outstretched hand sent me flying, the kaleidoscope of colourful energy surrounding me quickly replaced by an endless blackness as I found myself falling through space.

"Also, instead of referring to me as that bastard, try using Goliath!" The being yelled from a distance, its voice taking on an echo-like quality. "It's not accurate, but the irony of me being the Goliath to your David is just delicious~".

I did my best, I really did, but pretty soon the only sound that could be heard for lightyears as I travelled through the void was this.

"FUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC…"

Goliath POV

"Yeah, that's sure to make him mad," Goliath nodded as they shook their head, their humorous chuckle soon replaced by a sad, lonely sigh as they looked over the chaotic void they called their home. The weight of it threatened to overcome the all-powerful being as it slumped, its shoulders barely standing in the face of what it had just done, the wrong it was committing against David.

They hoped that David would finally be the one they were searching for, the one who could finally fulfil their ultimate purpose.

"But he still has to make it through his first lesson," The being muttered despondently, thinking of all those that had come before him. "Here I am, hopeful that David will be the one when he hasn't even passed his first obstacle. Regardless, I still hope he's the one."

The being looked down at its hands, clenching them tightly before sighing as he let them hang low, lifelessly.

"Because I'm not sure how much longer I can keep doing this."


-CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!" I cursed as I fell, directing every ounce of my irritation at my self-proclaimed Goliath. It wasn't enough that he was using me as his plaything, oh no, but did he have to go and make a pun about my name? Sorry, they. Goliath just had to go and play the big bad dick of the east as they used me for their demented form of entertainment. One that I hadn't asked to participate in, or even wanted to participate in.

Yeah, maybe I'll get to experience some of the worlds of fiction I loved, and seeing Wrex, Shepard, Garrus, Tali in real life was something I would try to never forget. Alongside the feel of blue skin.

But in return, I could also be experiencing some of the worlds I hate. The worlds I despise. And my only motivation for doing so, other than not being tossed away like some child's unfavoured toy, was some vague reward for accomplishing my tormentor's desires.

It made it really tempting to just give up and go and shack up somewhere secure, biding my time until Goliath got bored with me, but this was something I couldn't necessarily count on. Goliath was probably some immortal being who had experienced countless lifetimes, while I was still primarily a 20-something-year-old man.

A man who was, while not particularly impatient, was by no means content to wait out an eternity in some completion of will. If the place I hid away in lacked entertainment, I'd be forced to complete Goliath's task just for something to do, or as a way to get out of the current world and into the next one.

All that didn't matter though, as right now I was still hurdling through the void, with no end in sight. literally. I couldn't see a damn thing with how black it was, not even the faintest glimmer of starlight touching upon my eyes.

So I just rested in whatever it was that protected me from the effects of the void, crossing my arms as I stewed in my anger.

Turns out that stewing is a good way to pass the time, as it felt like barely any time had passed at all before glimpses of colour started flickering into view, a few motes of bioluminescence converging together to birth an almost nauseating mixture of red, black, brown and white and every colour in between.

The barrier into my next world, I breathed in suspense, as how could it be anything else?

It wasn't the same as Goliath's space, I noted. It didn't seem quite as…real, not that that's how I would describe it. No, it was more like it lacked the presence of Goliath's home. Where theirs had been full of potential, bursting at the seams with chaotic energy, this new space just seemed…dull. Cold. Unyielding. Powerful, yes, but not as invigorating.

On the other hand.

"That's a dragon," I muttered in surprise as I floated through the space, observing in faint wonderment the enormous being in front of me.

As I got closer I truly started to appreciate the scale of the being, the length of its body filling my vision with the tip of its tail on one extreme of my vision to the enormous head at the other. I could barely take note of the red and gold scales and spikes that covered its form, or how its muscular bulk.

It was a western style dragon, one with a thick, muscled-laden body that it used to slowly float through the void, moving in an arc that seemed kind of strange. At least, it did until I'd travelled a bit further, turning around to face the dragon I'd passed as it completed its barrel roll.

"And it's flipping through space. Because why wouldn't it be."

At least its behaviour was mostly benign, not possessing the inherent viscousness expected of a being of its stature. For some reason, however, I couldn't help but feel that it looked familiar, the sight of the enormous dragon's body tickling some faint memory in the back of my mind.

"He's magnificent," I complimented before pausing in thought as my vision trailed down, letting me catch a glimpse of something before they snapped back up, "Yep, definitely a boy, and a big one at that. A large, red dragon if you will. Some might even call it great," I observed, talking to myself. Somehow, these words seemed to amuse the dragon, as its head, which had been pointed to the left of me, started shifting in a slow arc that ended with it looking at me directly.

There was a clear level of intelligence in its golden, slitted eyes. One that spike of agelessness. Of power. And thankfully, of amusement.

I was just glad that it didn't mind that I was here. It didn't stop me from swallowing nervously at the sight, however, as being the centre of attention for some other, infinitely powerful being in comparison to myself, wasn't the most comfortable feeling.

"There's a nice dragon. Don't mind me, I'm just...hanging around," I rattled off wearily, not letting my gaze move from the dragons as I felt the force on my body change, increasing in magnitude as I was jerked away from scales as the void around me broke open, cracks of light splitting through the space as first my sight, and then the rest of my senses left me, leaving me in a featureless space of white nothingness.

But even that faded, evaporating at the same time as my consciousness did as I was left with a faint sense of compression, of squeezing into something that I shouldn't be able to fit in, but did anyway.

...

...

...

It felt like only a moment had passed before my senses came back to me, the faint scent of nature wafting into my nose as I looked around in the dim light, observing the tall trees, the artistic fountain and the clean benches around me.

A park, I realised. One that was strangely dark despite how the sun was only just setting. Continuing to look around with curiosity, I realised that I wasn't alone as standing in front of me was a youthful Japanese boy, one sporting messy brown hair and wearing a nice pair of black paints that complimented his collared shirt well, topped off with a light grey coat on the top.

"Yuuma?" The boy asked, looking at me in confusion with a puzzled expression in his large brown eyes. "Is something wrong?"

And like that, I was hit with the weight of new memories as the most recent ones came back to me. Memories of my time as Yumma Amano, otherwise known as Raynare the fallen angel. It almost made me sigh at being inserted into another woman, admittedly one that also possessed a fine-ass body, but the current situation was a bit more pressing.

Even more than being inserted into the clusterfuck that was DxD, since thanks to Goliath I know I wouldn't have to stay here too long.

You see, the sight of the park and Issei's usage of my name was a pretty clear indicator of just where in the timeline I was. Raynare hadn't exactly been a big part of it, and if the concerned gaze in Issei's eyes was anything to talk about, he didn't currently hate me for killing him. This meant I was right before Raynare had revealed himself as a member of the supernatural before she ruthlessly pierced him through the gut with a light spear.

Thinking for a moment, I could even recall her/my direct intentions of finishing Issei off right before I had taken the reins, Raynare's disdain for the human race evident in the casual thoughts of murder that had been running through my mind.

"Sorry Issei, I got lost in thought for a second," I replied simply with a shrug, deciding to wing it. "Anyway, the favour I wanted, is for you to not freak out, alright? There is probably something you should know about me before we go any further."

Issei's brow furrowed while a goofy grin appeared on his face, even his overdeveloped love for the female form falling prey to his sense of self-preservation. Meanwhile, I cursed myself for using those particular words, as they suggested something that just plain wasn't going to happen.

"Why would I freak out? Yumma…what's going on? Did I do something wrong?"

Oh, you poor boy. I could empathise, man. I too had gone through the same woes of first dates, wanting to know if it had gone well or gone badly, and how could I fix things if it had. Admittedly, it was a bit strange to be on the other side, but at least I had still been the one to ask him on a date.

With intentions of murdering him brutally the second I confirmed his sacred gear admittedly, but I had still been the one to ask regardless. It counts okay?

"No, no, you didn't do anything wrong. Just, just wait a moment."

Before Issei could get become any more worried and before I could second guess myself, I took a step back to make sure I had enough room, almost pressing my legs up against the lip of the fountain as a soft mist started hitting the back of my knees. Thinking towards when I had first cast the magic spell to transform into my more innocent, schoolgirl form, I extracted the process of how to reverse it.

Closing my eyes, I held my arm up into the sky, finger extended outwards as a purple glow started forming around it. Strictly speaking, this wasn't entirely necessary, but having an action to focus the magic helped with its execution, and while I had almost 500 years of memories of practice and should theoretically be fine, I didn't want to risk it.

So I swiped my finger down through the air, imagining that the collection of energy on my finger was the scalpel that would break apart my disguise. An outburst of purple light was my response as I felt my form change, my magic transforming my body as it increased in size from Yuuma's 5'4 to Raynare's 5'7, my bust and hip size increasing along with it.

Not proportionally either, as while before I had posed the body of an extremely busty, yet still natural human girl, I now possessed a figure that was, quite literally, supernatural. The increase in size didn't come without a cost, however, as the clothes I had been wearing were strictly normal, and thus burst apart at the seams as the scraps were sent flying due to my increased size.

My skirt, stockings, underwear, all of it. For a brief, drawn-out moment where I felt time slow down, I was skyclad, as naked as the day I had been created by the all-father, a sight that Issei seemed to appreciate before I covered myself with my hands.

"I saw them! I definitely saw them!" Issei yelled out in jubilation as his eyes widened, a trickle of blood starting to run down his nose as the boy experienced euphoria. "It was only for an instant, but I definitely saw them!"

His words caused me to flush, but I continued the process as wings burst out of my naked back, flaring first upwards and then outwards in a flare of feathers and sinew, the avian body parts surrounding me in a flurry of floating feathers.

Next came the honestly most embarrassing part, as seemingly out of nowhere, or more accurately out of a storage space I had tied into the transformation spell, black, leather-like strands started wrapping themselves around my body, starting by going around and under my crotch before winding up my body, circling my breasts in a lewd display before finally latching together at the back of my neck, leaving me standing it was could charitably be called bondage gear as I moved my arms out of the way.

Bodage gear...for an exhibitionist.

My transformation over, the light around me withered as I flared my wings again, stretching them to their fullest as my presence filled the area, giving off a holy yet corrupt light. It must have been a cinematic sight because Issei's jaw had dropped at the display, but it was only natural. I was a supernatural beauty, and it was kind of weird how easily I accepted the title internally, with the dying light of the sun framing my body. Why wouldn't Issei be impressed?

The admiration satisfied me, as if such a lowly lifeform should be in awe, but it also made me uncomfortable, because it was a guy leering at me like that. Maybe if it was a girl, it'd be fine, but this was just weird. The thought that he should be cowering at my feet, lucky to even be in my mere presence also came to mind, which was a little more concerning.

I'd have to keep an eye on that, as just like with Liara, I possessed the full depth of Raynare's sordid memories. All 546 years of it. Sure, the first 19 as an Angel were quite pleasant, but after a bit over a year to adjust as a Fallen? Let's just say that Raynare lived up to her race's reputation based on the sheer number of sins she had committed.

Surprisingly, despite the fact that she had fallen to the sin of lust, much like Kalawarna had, I hadn't actually indulged in the carnal acts all that much. Well, at least not for my, Raynare's, race, because seriously, even though Millet's sin was Envy, she had bedded more people than I had while being only half my age, and this was in spite of looking like she needed a training bra.

So yeah, Raynare wasn't particularly lustful, not for a fallen angel. Yes, she had slept with more partners than almost any human currently alive, but she had lived over 5 times their lifetime and was a race inclined to sinful acts. While this had consisted of many men and women, and wasn't that a weird thought, Raynare had indulged her sin for power as a method of keeping it intact, not willing to drown in it when she couldn't have the one she really wanted. Not when she couldn't have the one she had fallen for.

Not while Azazel was still out of her grasp. Because, no matter how much she tried, and boy had she tried, she had never succeeded in seducing him, as Azazel was far too obsessed with his sacred gears and the women of the other races to give her any attention. This unfortunately included humans, which was part of the reason I was so offended by them.

Gah, no! I don't look down on humans. I am human, or at least I was. Shit, I really am going to have to keep an eye on the memory retention here. At least with Liara, it was mostly benign things like historical literature and peer review journal articles. Stuff that, while not necessarily what I would have done personally, was still perfectly acceptable by even my most strict moral compass.

For Raynare however? I could barely think of a single day that I hadn't done something at least morally questionable, let alone the acts that I had done which were downright immoral, not to mention illegal.

But I didn't want to dwell on that right now, so I might as well focus on the welcome distraction that was Issei.

"I'm sure you have a few questions," I stated, my cheeks flushed red as I fought against the urge to wrap my arms around my chest to prevent Issei from staring at them, the boy's eye glued to my shapely chest in a daze. I mostly didn't do it because I'm pretty sure it would just frame my breasts, not cover them.

Absently, I also noticed I was now taller than the boy, although that might be in part due to the black heels I was now sporting, boosting my height to almost 5 10.

"Let me be blunt by saying, I am a fallen angel. One of god's creatures, lost to his light."

The boy was stunned as he stared at me numbly for a couple of seconds before he managed to collect himself. "That was blunt," Issei mumbled numbly as his gaze moved up for the first time since my transformation, a puzzled and slightly scared expression appearing on his face as a myriad of emotions crossed it.

I felt for the boy, I really did. Well, as much as I could without also wanting to beat his face in for (being human) all of the missed opportunities he had in the canon timeline. Seriously, while I knew he eventually got over his hangups enough to actually have children, seeing as they are literally mentioned their names in the later light novels which I hadn't read, he could have cashed in his v-card so much earlier than he had if he'd just had the balls to go for it.

Sure, some of that's due to the strictly unhealthy mindsets and hero worship the girls had towards Issei in the cannon timeline, and in a way, it was the ethical decision to not pursue such a physical relationship while the girls weren't in the right mind, but this is a literal Ecchi world.

A world I had just contributed to, I thought as embarrassment flushed my mind, seeking to infest my thoughts and mar my face with a red flush. I pushed the urge down, drawing on my unfortunately tainted memories to eliminate at least some of my embarrassment as I filled with memories of revelry and debauchery.

Yeah, it'd be fine. I just have to distract Issei with information about the supernatural world and all would be well.

(I was ignoring the part of my mind that was telling me I was deflecting the issue. Go away, mind.)

"Despite what is commonly believed among humans, you are not alone in this world." I continued, ignoring how warm my cheeks felt. Issei opened his mouth to reply before frowning, his eyes squinting as he tilted his head.

I headed the thought off before it could go anywhere by whipping my hand down through the air, creating a breeze of wind that ruffled some of his hair. "I can tell what you're thinking, and by the strictest sense of the word, no, we're not aliens." I paused for a second before frowning. "Technically."

Because to be an alien, we would have to have an external origin, one that came from a different place than Earth. And while Scientists may not have had an all-powerful figure in mind in my own world, at least for the world of DxD, there was no doubt that god had created both angels and humans.

And while God himself hadn't created devils, one of his own (former) angels had, leading to a common point of origin. The same holds true for the youkai and vampires, as they were all involved with Earth in some way as well.

But even as I thought this, a piece of knowledge floated back to me, bringing itself to the forefront as my eyes widened. Technically, there were aliens in existence that we knew of and had met.

One alien, to be specific. Ophis, the Ouroboros dragon. A dragon born from the void in the dimensional gap, with no outside influence from Earth. Great Red was also there, but he was debatable due to his origin from dreams and fuck I had met him just earlier! I had met him, even locked eyes with him, and I hadn't died! The mad lad had even had the guts to do a barrel roll while I was watching!

The thought brought a chill to my spine, one that ran down its entire length as I shivered, my feathers fluttering before I shook my head, reaching up to smack my cheeks as I centred myself in the moment, ignoring the strange look it garnered.

"Sorry, got lost in a train of thought," I apologised, smiling earnestly at Issei as he looked away, suddenly bashful. Great, I thought with a scowl, the boy was infatuated with me. Was it because I was the first girl his own age to show some interest?

Fuck, it probably was. While I didn't intend to kill him, I certainly wasn't going to start a relationship with him, as the mere thought of it sent my stomach rolling. I would have to put that desire to a stop. Or maybe deflect it, I thought with a tilt of my head, before nodding. Yeah, that would probably work better, and there were certainly plenty of girls in the sea to play with. Especially with his possession of the Boosted Gear.

"As I was saying, I am a member of the supernatural community, one that is hidden from the modern world."

"But…you showed yourself to me," Issei blinked dumbly, pointing at himself as he struggled to come to grips with the information. "If this…community, is meant to be hidden, why are you telling me? I'm not some kind of special being, I'm just…me."

"I did reveal myself to you," I nodded, crossing my arms in front of me, inadvertently pushing my chest higher which drew Issei's eye with the bounce it caused, "in more ways than one," I grumbled, "but I'm going to have to correct you on one thing Issei. Despite your humility, you are in fact, special. You see, you possess a piece of equipment that is exceedingly rare in this world, one granted to very few individuals. You, Issei, possess a sacred gear."

"A s-sacred gear?" Issei echoed, looking down at his chest as he started patting around his black shirt, his eyes a tad erratic as he patted himself down. "What's a sacred gear? Is it bad? Am I going to get sick?"

Despite myself, I couldn't help but laugh at Issei's naivety. Here I was, revealing myself to be a member of biblical mythology, telling him that he had been given something important by god himself, and he was concerned that it would hurt him.

Not that angels were real, or that the afterlife was also a thing meaning he would almost certainly be going to hell considering how lustful of a creature he was, but simple, honest concern for himself. In a way, I could almost see how some of the other girls in DxD had fallen for him. Such honesty, in such a complicated world, was refreshing.

"No Issei," I laughed, reaching up to cover my mouth as my shoulders shook, doing wonderful things for my anatomy, "you're sacred gear won't hurt you. Very few of them do without initialisation of the gear itself, and the signs would have already shown if you had possessed one of those cursed gears."

Issei sighed in relief, some of the tension in his body leaving him as he went back to admiring my curves. He knows what he wants, I'll give him that I thought a tad uncomfortably.

"So, this…sacred gear, what is it? You said it's inside of me? How did it get there, and when?"

"It's not physically inside of you," I explained, shaking my head. "More like it's conceptually stored inside your soul, ready to emerge when you are ready, and it has been since the day you were born. Since the day god's system put it inside of you. And if what I have sensed from the time I spent with you is correct, your entire world is going to turn upside down."

Issei didn't focus on the 'upside-down' comment, however. No, instead his eyes began to shine with vulnerability, his lips curling downwards in a way that I could see clear as day despite the almost absolute state of darkness the park was now experiencing.

"Is…is that why you asked me on a date? So, you could find out what g-god stored inside my soul?"

The boy looked like a small, frightened animal as he asked me this, his eyes staring into my very soul in a way that both made me feel bad and made me feel good.

I could suppress the second reaction however, as I stepped forward and grabbed Issei's hand, holding it in both of mine as I sighed, bending down so we were looking each other in the eye.

"I'm afraid so, Issei," I smiled sadly, drawing upon my centuries of experience in deceiving people. "Despite your reputation, which is frankly horrible and something you should work on,"

Issei had enough sense to blush at the comment despite how fixated in my eyes he was, his brown eyes focused intently on my own violet ones.

", you really are a sweet boy, one that many women would be lucky to date if they got a chance. But I'm over 500 years old, and romance has not been a goal for me in a long time." Not when it couldn't be with the one I really wanted, I didn't say aloud, a thought I chased away.

"You're over 500!?" Issei yelled, rearing back as he scanned his eyes down and then up as if he couldn't believe it. "Why do you look so young? You could pass for 20!"

"Again, supernatural." I shrugged, standing upright as I fought against rolling my shoulders. I really needed to get a better outfit than the one I was wearing. The long strings were really digging into my lower cheeks, and even with the structural support I had as a fallen angel, I would need something to help support my enormous chest before I felt comfortable.

"In my world, physical appearance is not a good indicator of how old someone is, with many of our oldest not looking a day over 30 despite being thousands of years old. Hell, there's one that's over a million and looks like she should still be in middle school."

Issei took a moment to digest my words as he swallowed, reaching up to rub his shoulders while he looked away, his expression dazed.

"I…don't really have the words, Yuuma. I just…I thought I was going on my first date, with a pretty girl who I thought liked me, and here you are telling me it was all a ruse. All fake. I just...I don't know what to feel."

"Then let me tell you what to feel," I said instinctively, taking a step forward and putting my hand on his shoulder, making Issei's expression turn perverted for a second before slackening. "You have a right to be confused Issei. I'm dumping a lot on you." I put my other hand on his free shoulder. "But if you're already confused, I might as well dump the most concerning piece of information I have. I wasn't sure for a while, but I've now confirmed it. Your sacred gear, the power stored inside your very soul, is the Boosted Gear. One of the 13 Longinus-class sacred gears, which are powerful enough to kill gods."

"…What?"

Before I could explain to the naturally flat-footed boy, a flare of magical energy appeared in my senses, off by the entrance of the park where the edge of my bounded field sat. Once created, it didn't require much attention from me, kind of like a slight nudge you would feel in the back of my mind, but what I had just felt was more than a nudge.

No, two devils had just entered the space, and judging by how their reserves mirrored mine in size, I could take a guess as to who they are. Fuck, I still needed more time to explain things to Issei.

"Dammit, they shouldn't be here yet," I cursed reaching up to nibble on the end of my glove-covered nail as my mind spun.

I'd assumed that, without gutting him, Rias would stay away due to not being called by the flyer. That she would be content that she would still have her change later, but I guess I'd thought wrong.

"Yuuma? What's wrong? Did something happen?" Issei asked with concern, looking at me with frightened brown eyes.

I only had a couple of seconds to act before the pair would be upon me, and while they might hold back due to Issei being here, I'm not confident in my chances of actually taking both the King and Queen of the Gremory Peerage.

For all of her boasting and desire to bed the literal leader of the Fallen Angel race, Raynare was very much on the bottom of the totem pole as far as power, and thus status went. More powerful than the entry-level supernatural creatures I sometimes dealt with, sure, but there was a reason I had been assigned an observation duty.

It's because my ability to deceive was far better than my ability to confront.

So, acting instinctively, I dived forward, wrapping my arms around Issei as he collided with me, his head going in between my chest as I rotated him, ensuring I had a proper grip on his body.

"Hold on! I'm taking us someplace else," I called before I pushed off the ground, flexing both my legs and my magic as I soared upwards, my wings flaring outward in a large wingspan as I travelled up and away from where I had sensed the two Devil's entre, pushing myself to go as fast as I could while I dispelled the bounded field, using the restored concentration to focus more fully on my flying.

Fortunately, it seemed like I had reacted quickly enough, as nothing happened in my flight through the town, my wings letting me glide almost silently through the dark night as I moved closer to where I knew Issei's house to be.

Curiously, Issei wasn't really struggling even though I had essentially kidnapped him. His posture was feeble. Looking down, I discovered why, as the boy was zoned out in my embrace, a large smile joining glazed eyes from his place between my bust.

The sensation of his hair shifting on sensitive skin was not unpleasant, I decided, but it was still weird. His hands had also joined the party, as they were groping the empty air below him in a way that made me glad I had turned him around. I didn't want to think where they would be right now if I hadn't.

Following the map I had in my head and comparing it to the streets we were passing over, I set us down on the corner of Issei's street, in a part that was only dimly lit by distant streetlights.

On the ground once more, I released my grip on Issei as he took a step away from me, letting off a whine of disappointment before he shook his head, looking at me intently as the corners of his jacket flapped in the wind.

"What was that about, Yuuma? Why did you grab me like that and fly us here?"

"Because, Issei, I sensed a couple of people I didn't want to talk to yet coming toward us, and we weren't done talking. A couple of people you weren't ready to speak to yet either, not without a better grasp on just what supernatural factions hold domain over Kuoh, and where their priorities lie." I sighed, brushing my hair behind my ear as I looked at him, my deep violet eyes glinting in the light from where they were obscured by shadows.

"As I told you earlier, I am a fallen angel. A creation of god fallen to sin. But just like fallen angels, and thus regular angels are real, so too are Lucifer's creatures."

"L-lucifers creatures?" Issei choked; his eyes wide as he looked at me in shock and confusion, simply reaction to the invoking of the light-bringer's name.

"Devil's Issei," I sighed with a shake of my head. "I'm talking about devils. You know, creatures of the night, bargain for your soul, that kind of thing?"

"My Soul?!"

"Yes, yes, souls are real, try to keep up. I wouldn't be too worried about losing it however, they banned the practice a long time ago. Now they just act as niche mercenaries." Ones that steal both the soul and the body.

My words had calmed Issei down a little, but he still looked like he was spinning, his mind unable to cope with all the new information he was taking in. It probably was quite a lot for him to digest, I suppose. His worldview had just been thrown on its head, and I've been throwing enough information at him that he hasn't even asked about the Boosted Gear.

"To summarise a very long and brutal conflict, about 400 years ago all three factions entered into a cease-fire after an extremely large battle. With it, all three of our races had been decimated enough that none of us wished to continue the conflict, and since then we have been in a very unstable truce. The two that I sensed entering the park? They're devils. One of which is one of the two local rulers of the Supernatural in Kuoh."

Well, rulers was a bit of a stretch, or at least it was for Rias. Sona on the other hand…well, I had spent a lot of time observing her in my time in the town, more than Rias, if I'm being honest. The girl ran a tight ship, one manned by the efficient hands of her carefully curated peerage as she ruled her personal fiefdom, Kuoh Academy.

Rias in comparison seemed quite lax as she went about her days pretending she was a simple human girl, rather than the ancient devil house heiress that she actually was. Seriously, why do you think literally every single member of her peerage had mental issues until Issei came around?

Yeah, Kiba's situation was a bit dicey, and…Gin…Gan…I knew it sounded like the ghost, Casper. Not important. Casper (cause that's what I'm going to call him) was a shut-in, and not one that Rias could really help (without just getting the boy a therapist, which Rias could damn well afford), but that was no excuse for Koneko and Akeno's situations.

The pair of them were identical in that they hated the race they were born with. Identical in that they hated what it represented. One was scared of becoming the monster she believed her sister to be, while the other detested the reminder of her father's failure whenever she saw it.

That level of body negativity was downright harmful, and yet Rias, poor innocent Rias, had been too concerned with her own woes to do anything about it. Boo hoo, you were betrothed to another High-class devil against your will.

Fucking get over it.

It's not like you were given years to yourself to do anything you wanted before you were married. Wait, no, she was. Rias was given years to prepare for the eventuality, years in which she could have trained, strategized, and planned, and it was only when Rias' back was put against the wall that she finally turned her attention to the matter and tried to do something about it.

Wasting so much prep time was reason enough to deserve her fate.

Besides, what's the worst that could happen if she had got married? Raped? I snorted. Yeah right. Big Brother Satan would never let anything like that happen to his precious little sister, and Riser would know that.

All Rias would be relegated to was a piece of eye candy to hang on his arm and occasionally be groped. A piece of eye candy who would still get everything she wanted, from riches to entertainment to still keeping her own peerage.

No, I didn't have any sympathy for that useless twat waffle. If she had any sense, she would have long since prepared for the upcoming conflict and come out ahead with ease, because when it came down to it Riser was a pretty minor player. Now, my memory may be a bit spotty on just who was in the flaming retard's peerage, but I know for a fact that there are only three actual threats in it. Riser, his sister Ravel, and Yu-something, his queen.

The rest were just cannon fodder, and if Rias had spent a little time learning how to create delayed destruction bombs before luring them in? They would be easily eliminated. The Akeno of cannon was enough to beat the infamous bomb queen, and with some forethought that maybe, just maybe, a Phenex would have fielded his team with Phoenix tears, she would have stayed down. If Rias had somehow gotten her queen to overcome her little hangup, she would have won easily.

Ravel, for as much of a strategist as she was, would fold after some damage, as the girl was too used to staying on the sidelines to deal with the mental fortitude of enduring blistering pain. This just left the man of the hour.

Riser.

He, I admitted, would be a problem. He was both powerful, possessing large reserves of Demonic power and a willingness to use it, and had the ability to regenerate almost endlessly if he was somehow damaged.

But as Issei had shown in cannon, if you couldn't attack the body, attack the mind. Or just paralyse the fucker with a stasis seal, the bastard would probably even be arrogant enough to let Rias place it on him. Seriously, Devil's possess the magic of imagination, use some damn creativity.

The point, which I admit I got kind of side-tracked from, is that if I were in Rias' situation? I would have done much better and not wasted my time. Kind of like how I was explaining the Supernatural world to Issei in a more in-depth way, I realised with a blink as I focused back on the boy, ending my mental tirade.

"Needless to say, as talking would have been a problem, I took off with you in hand," I finished explaining, earning a look of realisation from the boy as a hint of nervous sweat beaded across his forehead.

"Y-you mean, we were almost caught by a pair of devils?"

"Yes," I smirked, taking delight at the distrust the boy had gained at my words, making me smirk as I placed my hand on my hip, coking it to the side. "But the important thing is that it didn't happen. There is much I still need to tell you, but it's getting late. You should probably get home before your parents start to worry."

Issei was startled at the statement before he took his phone out, cursing at the double digits in the hour hand as he nodded, looking up at me regretfully even as his eyes flicked down before focusing on my face again.

Right, I don't care if it's illegal, the first thing I do after making sure Issei gets home safe is break into a Sears or something. Mamabird needs some new clothes.

"Are you sure? The devils aren't going to ab-abduct me in my sleep or something?"

"I'm sure." I nodded as I reached forward, ruffling the boy's head and messing up his remaining bits of combed hair. "Like I said, we're in a ceasefire. Granted, one that I kind of violated, but none of us," cough, some of us, "want the war to start up again. None of us are going to take any advert actions, least of which is kidnapping you in the middle of the night. Observe yes, primarily due to your sacred gear," I reminded him, which made him open his mouth in question before I lifted my hand.

"Not right now, Issei. It's late, and you clearly need some time to think things through." I did get an idea, however. Holding my hand out, I materialised my phone, one of the latest generation smartphones that Raynare had stolen, and held it out in front of me.

"I'll give you my real contact details in case anything urgent comes up, but would you mind meeting up tomorrow night? I can finish informing you then."

Issei couldn't nod fast enough as he rapidly opened up his contact section, adding me to his contacts list with my real number, unlike the fake one I had given him as Yuuma. I did make one small correction, however.

"And my name is not actually Yuuma," I said, storing my phone as Issei blinked, his mouth falling open. "It's Raynare!" I yelled as I took off again with a burst of wind, flying straight up a couple of dozen metres before I came to a stop, using a piece of magic to zoom in on the ground below as Issei fumbled with his phone, staring at it.

This only lasted for a moment, however, as not even the seriousness of the event could dampen his mood.

"I got a girl's number!" Issei yelled, punching the air with the hand that held his phone like it was some kind of achievement, despite the fact that it was the second time I had given it to him. This naturally caused a few dogs to stay barking, and one crotchety old man to yell some obscenities at him as he scurried back home, quickly shutting and locking the door behind him.

The sight made me chuckle as I floated through the air, enjoying the sereneness of the cool, night-time wind before I moved away, navigating toward the primary shopping mall of Kuoh. Seeing as I wasn't in danger of being pursued this time, I maintained a slower, more leisurely pace than I had before, only drawing on a moderate amount of magic as I floated through the sky, gliding gracefully through the air currents with relish.

This…this kind of made it worth it, I mused as I looked down upon the glittering lights below me, the biting chill having almost zero effect as I observed the town. The feeling of flying under my own power, of experiencing the freedom of a bird as gravity ceased its hold on me?

It was indescribable. How would you describe the colour green to a blind man, or the sound of a piano to a deaf woman? The sensation of holding a warm mug of coffee to a boy born without hands? Sure, you could make comparisons they would understand, and use words to paint a metaphorical picture in the minds of the recipients, but in the end, was it really the same?

Because I could tell you right now. I had flown in a number of aircraft and ridden a number of roller coasters, and this, flying under my own wings, was something completely new. Something unexplored. Something, that I relished the experience of, which made me release some of the annoyance I held for Goliath.

Cracking my neck, I folded my wings together, bringing them in like a bird of prey as I began to dive down toward the ground, a whistle filling my ear as I zoomed through the air, my speed increasing rapidly as I moved closer and closer to the bright lights.

After almost 10 seconds of this, I snapped my wings open, reinforcing them with magic as they took the brunt of the centrifugal force while I corrected my trajectory, leaving myself flying horizontally at great speed as I screamed out in jubilation to the world, a wild grin pasted across my faces.

This was amazing, I thought with glee. And I hadn't even started exploring my magic yet, or even my body. It seemed like there was nothing that could bring me down now.

"Are you sure about that?"

Oh no. No no no no no.

"Because I think enough time has passed for me to reveal what your goal as Raynare is."

Don't you do it. Don't you fuck-ing do it.

"It's quite simple really, even if it's a two-parter. First up is that you have to ensure Issei doesn't become a devil. The second is that you have to help Rias end her engagement. Why do you have to do both? Well, it's simple. Because I said so. Anyway, there you go. Try not to mess anything up too badly. Buh-bye~"

Dammit! Goliath had gone and bloody ruined the mood. Helping Rias, a girl I honestly disliked escape her marriage, all the while ensuring that Issei doesn't become a devil? How the hell was I going to do that?

Rias POV

"I'm sorry president," Akeno apologised, shaking her head mournfully even as a glint of malice flashed in her purple eyes, her excessive curves doing nothing to hide the agitation she was feeling. "There's no sign of either of them, the trail ran could. The only thing I could find was this."

Akeno finished her explanation by holding a single, large, black feather up in front of her, pinching the tip of it between her fingers as she grimaced in disgust. She made no fuss as Rias took the feather from her, rolling the central shaft of it between her fingers.

She tried her best, she really did, but she could not stop the look of disappointment that forced itself onto her face.

She had been so close to nabbing herself another member of her family, one that could potentially help her escape the marriage with that bastard, and some fallen angel had snatched him away. Had stolen what was rightfully hers.

"It's alright Akeno," Rias smiled bitterly, the depth of her feelings shining through as she swept her hair behind her ear, the scarlet-red hair curling around it. "We were just too late, the fallen got to him first."

A flare of black magic disintegrated the feather between her fingers, the dust floating away with the wind. Rias began to nibble on her finger, already drawing up new plans.

She hoped Issei was fine, she really did. If he wasn't...if this fallen angel dared to harm one of the humans under her watch? She would feel the brunt of her wrath and come to regret the day she crossed the Crimson-haired Ruin Princess.


AN: And that's a wrap. I felt pretty good about this chapter, trying to keep the pacing going well and not have anything seem too forced while also giving some of Raynare's background and David's reaction to it. I'm also experimenting with using third-person for other characters' points of view while sticking to first-person for David/Raynare. That's all from me, however, so until next time.

Ervin.