Kawasaki, Japan — 2:12 A.M.
The apartment was too quiet.A small, dimly lit living room was crammed with cheap furniture, tangled cables, and old takeout containers.
On the couch slouched deep, legs spread, laptop on his belly lay Hayato Arakawa.
Seventeen.Dropout.Broke.Alone.
The blue glow of his laptop screen flickered across his face as anime voices echoed weakly from the speakers.
Hayato wiped crumbs off his chest and stretched lazily.
"After this episode… I'll really stop," he muttered.
He said that for the fifth time tonight.
The anime hero on screen screamed something inspirational. Hayato blinked slowly.
"Come to think of it… I've been watching this thing for a whole day."
He snorted. Then laughed.Then the laugh slowly faded, sinking into a frown.
"…Dad and Mom would've been mad if they saw me like this."
His voice was weak, almost swallowed by the room.
"They'd probably tell me to go sleep by now."
He cleared his throat and mimicked them, switching voices dramatically:
"Hayato, what are you still doing awake? Don't you know your dad wou..."
He froze mid-roleplay.
His expression darkened.
"…I should really stop thinking about the past."
He shifted slightly and his hand smacked into a half-empty soda can.
clink—tsshh
The can toppled, spilling sugary liquid across the floor, sliding under the table toward an old extension cord. One section of the cable insulation had peeled off long ago, exposing raw copper.
Hayato stared.
"…huh."
He debated—move? Ignore?The episode had just reached the good part.
"I really don't wanna get up… ahh, it just got interesting."
As if punishing him, the internet froze.The video buffered.
"Seriously…?" he whispered.
A long sigh.
"Fine, fine… I shouldn't be this lazy. It's just picking up one can of soda."
He dragged himself off the couch and stepped forward, half awake, half annoyed.
His bare foot planted directly into the puddle.
Right on top of the exposed wire.
There was a crack, a violent hiss and his body seized instantly.
Hayato's eyes widened, his jaw locked, and electricity ripped through his nerves.
On the laptop, frozen mid-frame, the anime hero shouted:
"I WILL..."
The speakers glitched, the sound warped.
"So... t-this is how I died huh" he smiled
Then everything went black.
Scene Shift — Royal Birthing Chamber of Eridanth
Velvet curtains. Golden walls. Candle smoke drifting.But the mood was tense, fear thick enough to choke the air.
A maid in crisp white clothing hurried to open the door.
"The Priest has arrived!"
Three more maids stood inside, no joy, no smiles, only dread. Their hands tightened on clean towels and herbal cloths.
On the bed lay Lady Arvella, queen consort of the Kingdom of Eridanth, pale and trembling. Her chest rose and fell like someone drowning on dry land.
The drug they gave her, the birthing-numb removed pain but also robbed her strength.
She couldn't even lift her head.
The Priest, robed in dark blue, approached with a cold expression.
"It is done?" he asked.
One maid swallowed. "Yes… the child is a boy."
There was no celebration.No cheering of a prince's birth.
Just silence.
Wrapped in silk, the newborn boy lay motionless. Not crying. Not moving.
The Priest placed a glowing crystal above the infant's chest.
Everyone held their breath.
The crystal flickered.
Once.
Then went dark.
The room froze.
"…null affinity," the Priest whispered.
Maid #1 stepped back. "No aura at all…?"
Maid #2 muttered, "But a royal child must have at least a spark, anything..."
The Priest snapped, "Silence."
His eyes narrowed, his voice dripping with political dread.
"An heir born without magic affinity will be seen as a curse. The other kingdoms will mock us. Enemies will see weakness."
Lady Arvella forced air through her throat.
"Please… he's… my son…"
She tried to sit up. Her arms trembled.The drug made her numb, helpless.
But her eyes begged them.
"Please… don't…"
The Priest didn't look at her.
"It must be done."
The birthing maid cried, "Please, Priest! At least let the King decide..."
"The King cannot know of this disgrace," he snapped."He would wage war to protect this boy, and doom us all."
He turned to the guards at the door.
"Take the infant to the cliffs of Velmoria. Return only once the order is complete."
Lady Arvella tried to scream.No sound came.
Her tears fell silently as she mouthed the word please again and again.
The guards bowed, but their eyes were filled with discomfort.
Still, they obeyed.
Because to refuse meant death.
Wrapped in silk, the newborn prince was carried away.
His mother, too weak to stand, watched him disappear through the doorway.
Scene Shift — Cliffs of Velmoria, The Demon Lands Border
The sky was dark. Winds howled as if mourning.
Two armored guards approached the jagged cliffside.
One held the infant.
"Are we really doing this…?" he whispered, voice shaking."He's still royal blood…"
"The order came from the Priest," the other answered. "If we don't, princess Selphira will have our heads."
A long silence.
The wind screamed against the rocks.
"He's… not even crying," one guard murmured. "Even now."
There was no ceremony. No prayer.
Only shame.
And they let go.
The baby fell.
Down, down, swallowed by fog and darkness.
Into the demon valley where nothing human survived.
No one knew that inside that tiny, aura-less infant…was no infant's soul at all.
It was empty.
Waiting.
Scene Shift — The Colorful Void
Hayato floated in a sea of swirling, vibrant light, neither sky nor ground, just colors melting into each other.
A deep, booming voice echoed:
"WELCOME, HERO."
Hayato looked around.
"Hero? …Is it talking to me?"
A colossal glowing figure appeared, towering like a god. Rings hovered behind its head. Light radiated from its body.
"Yes, hero," the giant replied."I see you have not yet discovered what truly happened to you."
Hayato squinted.
"What happened... to... me…? Oh… I was electrocuted."
He looked around.
"…wait is this reincarnation? This is real?"
He smiled faintly.
"Finally, I died."
The giant stared at him.
"…You are remarkably calm."
But Hayato wasn't listening.He reached out to touch the floating colors.
"So weird… it's like a screensaver."
The giant continued:
"I bid you farewell, Hero. Remember... as you grow, your power also grows..."
Hayato snapped back.
"Wait, what?!"
But his body was already dissolving, fragmenting like ash.
"HEY—hold on! What do you mean hero—?! TALK PROPER...l..y..!!!"
His voice was swallowed by light.
The giant's welcoming face slowly melted into…
Disgust.
The radiant body crumbled.
The halo shattered.
Light burned away to reveal black flames rising from the floor.
Five towering demons stood behind him, each adorned differently:
one in jagged armor
one in noble robes
one in savage bone plating
one in warrior garb
one reptilian female with a humanoid torso and scaled lower body
All knelt.
Except one.
A half-elf, half-demon male knelt closest to him, left full arm engraved with glowing demonic veins.
The giant shrank down, folding into a handsome humanoid form, draped in dark robes with faint fangs showing.
He moved toward a black throne.
The half-elf immediately rushed forward avoiding eye contact.
"Hope it went well, my lord…"
The robed figure sat slowly.
Then laughed.
"You ask funny questions."
He rested his cheek on his knuckles.
"It did not go exactly as planned… but one thing is certain..."
His smile twisted.
"This one is… troublesome."
The half-elf swallowed.
"My lord… what should I do with the corpse that we..."
"Silence."
His tone cut like a blade.
His gaze fell upon the half-elf.
"You."
The half-elf slowly lifted his head and his pupils widened.
For a moment, he didn't see a demon's face.
He saw nothing.
A black void sitting on a throne.Featureless.Ageless.Merciless.
The demon lord extended a hand.
Power surged.Dark tendrils wrapped around the half-elf's head.
He screamed without making a sound.
Memories ripped away, every demonic tie, every forbidden truth, stripped until only one seed remained:
Follow the boy.Observe him.He is the project.
The demon lord flicked his hand.
The half-elf's eyes went blank for a moment, then returned with only fragments of self.
He bowed deeply.
"Yes… lord…"
-then vanished into swirling shadows.
The other demons lowered their heads.
The demon lord turned toward a stone coffin beside his throne.
Inside, a massive corpse lay regal armor cracked, a crown shattered, eyes hollow.
"My king," he whispered softly to the corpse, "we will resurrect you soon."