The world blurred into ribbons of silver and shadow the moment Akuma invoked one of his higher Parallel Operations — a technique that twisted the perception of space around his body like a quiet storm. One blink, and the stone basement was gone. Another blink, and he found himself standing in a strange, older district of the Western Azure Kingdom — a place covered in silence, dust, and the faint smell of ink.
He stared up at the sign."The Solarium Library."
A place no one visited anymore.A place where silence was so thick it felt like a living creature.
Akuma stepped inside.
Long rows of shelves towered over him like pillars of forgotten knowledge, stretching past the visible end of the room, shadowed by lanterns that burned low and warm. A faint hum filled the building. Not humans. Not creatures. Just knowledge, vibrating with abandoned purpose.
Akuma walked slowly, hands behind his back, expression empty — but there was something in his stride. Something sharper than boredom. Something faintly drawn toward the quiet.
He wanted silence.He wanted peace.He wanted a place where his thoughts didn't echo against the noise of foolish mortals.
But then—
One book glowed.
Not literally.Not magically.But to Akuma's eyes — enhanced by Parallel Operation Lvl 6: Analysis — the spine of the book pulsed with a unique "importance signature," something only his mind could pick up.
A leather-bound volume. Crimson. Bound with symbols older than the kingdom itself.
He reached for it.
And the moment his fingers brushed the cover—
✦━━━✦┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ✦ 🜂 ✦ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈✦━━━✦✧◆◇◆✧◆◇◆✧◆◇◆✧◆◇◆✧◆◇◆✧★彡[ MEMORY— FRACTURE… FOUND ]彡★✧◆◇◆✧◆◇◆✧◆◇◆✧◆◇◆✧◆◇◆✧✦━━━✦┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ✦ 🜂 ✦ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈✦━━━✦
Pain detonated behind Akuma's eyes.
A sharp, stabbing, brain-splitting pain — the first true sensation he had felt since reincarnating.He staggered, breathing hitching for a split second before he forced his expression to return to calm neutrality.
But inside his skull?
A scream.
A scream that wasn't human.A scream layered with thousands of voices.A scream that sounded like a kingdom burning.
His fingers tightened on the book.His vision flickered.And then—
A word.Just one.A name carved into the deepest part of his soul.
"S… a… t… a… n…"
Akuma froze.
His breathing stilled.His pupils dilated.Something old — something ancient — twisted awake inside the cracks of his being.
He whispered, voice a low murmur that vibrated with an unfamiliar weight:
Akuma: "What… is that word… and why does it feel like it belongs to me?"
His voice trembled.Not emotionally.No — Akuma had no emotions.But the memory trembled. Like a chain rattling.
More images shot into his mind.
Flashes of a throne made of screaming souls.A kingdom of black flame.A blade forged from sin.A war with angels.A crown of horns.
And then—
Blood.Fire.Light swallowing him whole.
His death.
His true death.
The book fell from his hand, hitting the floor with a dull thud.
Akuma leaned against the shelf lightly, posture still refined, but his eyes widened the slightest fraction — a microscopic crack in his perfect calm.
Akuma: "So… this vessel had a predecessor. A being whose name echoes across worlds… Whoever he was… his existence stains my mind."
He shut his eyes.And the last whisper of that memory sliced through him:
"I am the end."
Akuma snapped his eyes open.
Akuma: "No. I am Akuma Hoshi. Whoever 'Satan' was… he is nothing more than… 0.5%."
His headache throbbed again, like something inside resisting the denial.
He exhaled softly.
And the library doors creaked open.
A librarian — old, trembling — stepped in, saw him, saw the fallen book, and paled as if looking at a ghost.
Librarian (stuttering): "Y–You… how did you even find that forbidden volume? It's sealed to only respond to—"
Akuma slowly lifted his eyes.He stared at her.Blank.Sharp.
Akuma: "To what? A name I do not yet understand?"
The woman swallowed hard, gripping the doorframe to keep from collapsing.
Librarian: "Only… only the reincarnation of the Demon Lord… Satan… can touch that book without dying."
Silence.
Akuma didn't move.
Not even a blink.
Then — calmly, quietly:
Akuma: "Interesting."
His headache spiked again.The memory fragment pulsed through him.
Akuma: "I will return when more… fragments awaken."
And Akuma stepped past the librarian, leaving her trembling in horror as the echo of the forbidden name lingered behind him.