The room was completely dark.
No light. No sound. Just silence.
A young man, around twenty, sat on the edge of his bed. The room was strangely clean — no trash, no mess — almost like no one truly lived there.
Books were stacked everywhere. Different topics. Different worlds.
It looked like he had been trying to understand something… something far beyond normal life.
Slowly, he picked up a knife.
Without hesitation, he pressed it into his palm.
Blood dripped down.
His face twisted in pain — but beneath it… there was something else.
Excitement.
Hope.
"Today…" he whispered. "It has to work."
He used his own blood to draw a magic circle on the floor, copying it carefully from an old book he had bought not long ago.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—
A faint red light appeared.
The circle began to glow.
And something… answered.
A figure stepped out from the darkness.
A demon.
"I will grant your wish," it said, its voice echoing unnaturally in the small room.
"But the price is your soul. Do you accept, human?"
The boy looked up.
"My name is Nedo," he said calmly.
"My wish… is simple."
"I want free will."
The demon froze.
Then it smiled.
"That… is impossible."
Nedo didn't react.
"So even death won't free me?" he asked.
"No," the demon replied. "Not even death."
For the first time, Nedo frowned.
"…Then you're useless."
He reached out, about to erase the circle.
"WAIT!" the demon shouted, panic breaking its voice.
"Do you know how long it's been since I appeared in this world?!"
Nedo paused.
"…So you've been in other worlds too?"
The demon hesitated.
"…Yes. Places without humans. Without voices. Without anything."
"…I was alone."
Nedo narrowed his eyes.
"What is—"
"Hey kid! Time to pay your rent!"
The voice of a woman suddenly cut through the air.