"Who...who are you?" the soul asked
"hmph! Lucille Anis Canalli, but you may call me - the Devil"
The devil said with a sly smile forming on his lips.
"huh? ...the devil? what do you mean devil? where am I? what is this place?"
The sudden change in environment had disorientated the soul
The devil decided to take the understanding approach with him
"hmmm...so many questions. Let's keep it simple"
"This place...is known as the realm of the abandoned ones" the devil said with a smirk.
"(Abandoned...)" the soul recalled the goddess staring at him in disgust and abandoning him to disappear.
To the soul, it was a reminder of his current fate.
To the devil it was his first card well executed already
Then he approached the soul teasingly
"That's right, you are all alone - casted aside - to disapper into nothingness"
"But lucky for you, I just so happen to be a... generous collector of the discarded"
As the devil approached, the soul regained his focus and steps back cautiously
"Wha-what do you want exactly?" he asked slightly concerned
"Oh, not much. Just a...little give and take; scratch your back you scratch, mine sort of thing" the devil responded casually trying to dismiss his true intentions
"I don't trust you-"
"Yes, trust, of course. You see, it is a fundamental flaw with humans, the concept of trust" he interrupted
"huh?" the soul confused where the devil was going with this
"Without trust you act with caution, with trust you act without" the devil said
"But, trust is not that consistent, and so...you risk it all the same"
"Which begs the question... why not simply act cautiously, with or without trust?" he continued
"what are you trying to see?" The devil's rambling was going over the soul's head.
"Ahh, but I digress. let's rectify the problem of trust"
The devil smiled and stretched his hand casually forward towards the soul, as a blurred visual of his memories appeared above them, playing like a cassette tape.
"In your maiden life, you lived as a human called Lionel. Dealt the wrong hand of fate from the very start, your mother died during child-birth"
"Father got addicted to drugs, leaving you as the only sane member of the family"
"Growing up, you were bullied all the way to college. After that, you interviewed in over 14 jobs before landing your first paycheck. However, shortly after, the company went bankrupt"
"You put up your home to get a loan from a bank; but was scammed out of the money by your 'friends'"
"Later on, you were summoned by this bank to renegotiate the terms, for the due repayment date had expired"
The soul was staring at the devil in disbelief
"Unfortunately, on the day you arrived, the bank was subject to an attack from 2 distinct groups of gang robbers"
"Caught in the cross-fire of their greed and bullets, you were hit with a stray; while trying to protect a woman's son from getting shot, meeting your first end"
"No...no way..." the devil's story coincides accurately with his memory but the devil wasn't stopping there.
With a flick of his finger, the visuals changed to his next life.
"Then, in your first reincarnated life, in order to exact karma upon the fate you had suffered with your life as Lionel, you treated the life of Nopheal Moreas as that of a recalcitrant prince"
"Abusing your power to manipulate those underneath you to do your bidding; until you were betrayed and slained by your own knight as punishment for your misdeeds"
The devil concluded - "Need I go on?" he said with a sly smile.
"..." the soul remained silent
"Good, silence speaks volumes as they say"
The devil resumed his approach but this time the soul didn't step back
"Now that we've addressed the problem of trust, let us get to the matter at hand"
The devil stopped within arm's reach of the soul
"I am willing to give you, that which the goddess and her dear council will not. A 2nd chance at reincarnation"
The soul's eyes lit up at the promise
"Yes, it is within my power to do so as well; just as I have proven it is within my power to know all that they know about you"
"I'm also willing to go one further, by making you stronger, better, preserving both of your memories to sweeten the deal"
"(Whoa! Even the goddess didn't let me keep my memories of Lionel in my life as Nopheal...)"
"Should you accept my offer, all that will be yours, and you would've escaped damnation"
The devil said, tilting his head at the soul's dissolved hand, a reminder he's really not left with much choice here
This got the soul thinking
"(tsk...he really is the devil isn't he? Knowledgeable, and already presenting to me a deal too tempting to refuse. If I do refuse; I'll probably resume where I left off, with my body turning to dust...) So, what's the catch, there's always a catch with you isn't there?"
"hm-hm-hm" the devil chuckles. "whatever happened to the concept of trust" he said.
"Don't play coy with me devil, I know your deals, they never end well, for anyone. So, what's the darn catch?" the soul asked again
The devil stood silent for a brief moment, then spoke
"In return for a 2nd reincarnation, you shall do my bidding; whatever I say, when I say it, you will obey. With every ounce of your being, you shall see to its realization - that, is my deal" the devil said sternly
"...pretty vague isn't it?" the soul asked
"So is the life you get to live. A fair trade wouldn't you agree?" the devil smiled
"Hardly, but let's assume that is the case; why me?" the soul asked
"That is irrelevant to the deal"
"I disagree. Without knowing the full terms, how can I ensure the integrity of our contract" the soul countered
"I make the deal, you accept it or not. That is how this goes" said the devil
"If we were to dive in all irrelevant plots, they'll be no end to our scuffle. So, make your choice; you barely have enough time left"
The devil reiterated, this time with a frown.
The time for understanding was slowly fading away and the soul knew it.
"tsk"
He knew he couldn't afford to mess up anymore, the devil was running out of patience.
But he wasn't prepared to dive in blindly either.
So he chose his next words very carefully
"All I want is a fair deal. Whatever happened to the concept of trust?" the soul said and stared straight into the devil's eyes
The devil looked deep into his, as his frown slowly fades into a cunning smile, then a light chuckle
"hm-hm-hm. I knew you were an interesting one. Let's just say, you understand the nature of vices, as well as I do"
"Vices?..."
"That is not to say, you're the only one. But, you are one of the people I'm after because of this fact. That is all I'll be willing to share with you, promising more, if you accept my offer"
"(Still doesn't paint a clear picture...but I can work with this...I think)"
"So, I'll ask one last time, what's it going to be?" said the Devil
"...(If I say no, it's game over. If I say yes however, I get a chance...)"
"(The devil is never to be trusted, but If I can use his offer to somehow prove to the goddess and her council I am a changed man...they may help me outsmart him)"
"(But I'll have to be careful, otherwise just as powerful as he is to pause my damnation, I'm pretty sure it'll be easy for him to restart it all over again...)"
The soul clutches his hand into a fist and stared at the devil with zeal in his eyes, then spoke his piece
"Fine! I accept your offer, devil"
The devil lets out a wide malign smile and then burst into chronic laughter
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, VERY GOOD!"
"huh?" The floor beneath the souls feet trembled
A mysterious sigil appeared at the back of the soul's remaining hand, his right hand.
It burns despite it being on a soul, as he could feel the pain when the mark bulges.
"urgh...it hurts"
"Only for this brief moment, to seal our deal and of course, as a warning, should you ever dare to defy the terms of our contract"
"..." the soul scorns at the devil who smiled cunningly
"But I'm sure, you wouldn't be so stupid now would you, my dear soul" said the devil
"Yeah, whatever. So, ready to meet your end of the bargain?" the soul asked
"hahaha, so impatient. I like it" the devil said and folded it's hands.
"Tell me then, how do you want to restart your life?" the devil asked
"...(All I did with Nopheal was terrible, and the mistakes of Lionel will always catch up with me if I let it...I have to do better this time) I need a new start, a fresh start"
"hoh...interesting. While this will put the schedule back a bit. I guess I can adapt the plan"
"So?"
"Yes, I'll give you your fresh start. That said, it's time to rewind. Come to me, Chronos!"
The devil called a being dressed in a fully white clock, holding with both hands a giant clock that appeared besides the devil almost immediately.
The soul shook a bit, but quickly regained his focus
"Chronos here will help meet your conditions, and when the time is ripe, I'll meet you in your new life"
"Okay... and how will I be able to tell?"
The devil smiled
"I'll find a way. For you see, knowing you and your alignments, I can appear to you as the most seductive, lustful, and charming woman of your dreams or-"
"If you reincarnate as a woman, I'll be the best friend you never knew you needed...or of course as your prince charming; can never really tell with the ladies"
The soul couldn't help but let out a light chuckle
"huh, so even the devil faces difficulties with that too" the soul commented
"We don't know everything about you creatures, and that is why we tempt you" the devil said
"huh?"
"We tempt you to learn, we tempt you to evolve, we tempt you...to manipulate" the devil concluded with an evil grin.
The last statement was a timely reminder to the soul that despite what just happened, he's still very much dealing with the devil here, not a friend.
"(I can't lose focus. If that was my first challenge, it's safe to say I already find myself at a disadvantage. I can't afford to take the devil lightly)"
"Now then, make your choice, fresh start and all that. So, would you reincarnate as a boy or girl?" The devil asked
"(Perhaps I can use this opportunity to reclaim some lost territory here. By pushing some decisions his way, maybe I can get him to let out more about himself and the deal) ... I leave the choice to you" the soul responded much to the devil's amusement
"hahahaha, very well. Chronos! commence"
"Yes, my lord"
The hands on the giant clock started turning and a faint glow with molecular particles were resonating around the soul, making his environment look ethereal, dreamy, calm
"I feel...my essence strengthening" the soul said as his lost arm and toes were recovering
"We shall meet at the other side, until then; remember our deal" the devil pointed to the sigil on the soul's right hand and smiled
"..." the soul nodded and then the glow grew bigger and consumed him, before vanishing completely, taking the soul with it.
As the faint light finally got consumed by the darkness, Chronos spoke
"My lord...are you really sure about this, making him your final...and only remaining choice?"
"..." the devil remained silent
"Should he fail...that'll be the end of our ambition...and ...your..." Chronos words trailed, he knew better than to voice them out.
"A choice even time cannot undo, that is the choice I have made Chronos. There is no use pondering what might've been at this point"
said the devil as he started slowly fading away himself
"Besides, I have a really...ironically, good feeling about this one"
"my lord..."
"If I don't come back...then I leave everything to you, Chronos"
Chronos takes a knee as a sign of respect
"I shall await your return my lord" he was not willing to accept any other outcome than a positive one.
The devil smiled and then vanished completely, saying nothing else
...
Then,
In the whole new magical fantasy world,
a small room in one of the homes,
a baby was born.
Carried gently on the chest of a caring mother, he slowly opened his eyes to the scent of an alluring and soothing fragrance
"[huh...where am...I...who...am...]"
"ah dear, you really should sleep some more you know" the warm voice of a woman spoke to the baby, as his eyes finally open wide
He saw in front of him a very sweet and attractive smile of a young woman, petting his hair with affection
"[she's...beautiful...]"
"Hehe, your mother doesn't agree, but sleep is for the weak, eh Naki?" said a deeper voice at the side.
Then, the baby stole a glance and found a grinning young man.
"[eh, who's this Naki? is it...me?]"
"oh... you want to see more of daddy's clown faces, here lemme show you" the man started making weird faces which came across to the baby as scary
"[bah!...what is with them scary faces...make it stop...make it...oh, I know what to do]"
"wa-wa-WAAAAAHHHHH" baby Naki cried out loud uncontrollably
With that, the mother and father started panicking as they're trying so hard to stop baby Naki from crying.
Meanwhile in the back of his mind, he was making sense of his situation
"[So it'll appear the devil was true to his word...at least for now, and I have been reincarnated here...a fresh start in the body of this...Naki]"
"[...Good, no, more than good, great! Fresh start, and until the time I meet the devil, I need to do whatever it takes to prepare. I'll need all the power and knowledge I can get, in order to outsmart him or defeat him, and claim this life for myself]"
"[It's time for my second, my true reincarnation to begin!]"