Darkness.

Silence.

Nothing.

I think I’m drifting.

Or maybe floating.

Honestly, I couldn’t really tell.

There was no ground beneath me.

No sky above me.

No up.

No down.

It was just… black. Like, everywhere.

Where am I?

I tried to move.

Nothing happened.

I tried again.

Still nothing.

That’s when I started to get kind of worried.

Can I even move?

Do I have arms?

Legs?

A body?

I couldn’t feel any of them.

Actually, I couldn’t feel anything. Not even a little.

No warmth.

No cold.

No pain.

No heartbeat.

What is happening?

Am I dead?

But if I am dead, how was I still thinking?

I didn’t understand.

I couldn’t understand.

I simply…

Existed.

…

When I woke up, my hands were pressed into something rough. Gravel, I think. I was lying face down, and there was dirt in my mouth. It tasted terrible. My arms and legs felt stiff, like they wouldn’t move at all. I managed to push myself up, but then I stopped. I tried to look around, but I couldn’t see anything. It was pitch black.

“Mum? Dad? Rai? Anyone?”

No one answered. It was just… silent.

“Where am I?”

The silence just kept getting worse. It was cold, too. I hugged my knees and tried to make myself smaller. My stomach growled, louder than I wanted. I had no idea where I was or what I was supposed to do. So I just sat there and waited. I kept waiting, and waiting, and… yeah, you get the point.

“Oh, what a delicious misfortune! The fates do have a sense of humor, don’t they?”

I yelped and scrambled away from where I sat. I heard footsteps, and then someone started laughing. It sounded kind of crazy. Then everything went quiet, and suddenly the place wasn’t dark anymore. Torches lit up the room. It looked like a cave, I guess. The walls were covered in mysterious drawings. They looked almost like… cave paintings. A huge golden mirror sat behind me on a stone platform. It had leaf patterns on it that looked nice, but honestly, it felt like it didn’t belong here. In the mirror, I saw a pair of green eyes staring at me. It was creepy. When I looked closer, I realized a man was standing right behind me. He had really pale skin and long red hair. He wore a sleeveless shirt with a weird red-and-white diamond pattern and black pants with leather straps. My gut told me not to say anything, but I had no idea what else to do. So, even though I was scared, I turned around.

“Careful now, lest your gaze burn a hole straight through me. Or is it fascination—or fear—that keeps your eyes so rudely fixed?”

“I’m sorry, mister… do you perhaps know where I am?”

He raised an eyebrow, like he didn’t expect me to ask that. He didn’t say anything for a bit, then started laughing.

“Do I know where you are? Naturally. The question is whether I feel generous enough to spoil the surprise. Where’s the fun in that?”

He waved his hand around, kind of dramatic, and then said:

“So the little lamb wanders, blissfully ignorant, while the wolves rehearse their lines just offstage.”

What was that supposed to mean? His way of speaking was just confusing. Was he messing with me, or did he actually mean something?

“Can you please tell me where I am already?!”

His smile disappeared, and he no longer looked cheerful. The whole mood changed so fast that my arms and legs started shaking. Then he finally answered.

“Alas, the curtain has fallen for you. Death takes its bow, and you—well, you are the applause.”

At first, his words didn’t really register. But when they did, my eyes widened, and I stared at him in disbelief.

“I-I’m… dead? But… how? How could that have—”

Suddenly, I remembered everything from before. The fear, the pain, all of it. It felt so real that I just dropped to my knees and threw up. I started crying.

“This can’t be right! This can’t be right! This can’t be right!”

I couldn’t breathe right. Everything around me felt blurry. The man just kept staring at me, not moving at all.

“It is true, I confess. Snuffed out before you could become truly interesting. My heart? Oh, it weeps, but only for the entertainment lost.”

He pulled out a long, black sword from behind his back.

“Alas, a villain with a conscience is merely an actor in the wrong play.”

He put the sword next to my neck. I guess most people would have tried to run, but I was just too tired. My mind felt empty. I didn’t know what to do anymore.

“Before I grant you the rare honor of a second demise, let us indulge in the formalities. I am called Lucifer. And you, my soon-to-be twice-dead friend?”

“Shako.”

Looking back, I don’t really know why I told him my name. Not that it matters now, I guess.

“Until our next act, Shako. Do try to make your encore worth the price of admission.”

He swung his blade—

—and the world fell into darkness once more.

…

“Wake up! Wake up!”

“…”

“Please—wake up!”

Who… is that? It kind of sounds like a woman’s voice. Maybe an angel? Or a demon? Or maybe I’m just imagining things again. She sounded really panicked, but I had no idea why. I felt her hands on my chest, shaking me. Wait, my chest?

I jolted upright without really meaning to. The person next to me shrieked and scrambled back. My head was pounding, and I felt kind of sick, so I didn’t even notice her at first. Once the pain faded a little, I finally looked up. For a second, I honestly thought I was still dreaming. A really beautiful woman sat in front of me, with long white hair and tanned skin. She looked strong and… well, kind of intimidating. Her clothes were kind of cool, too—a sleeveless green top, black leather pants, and a crystal earring in her left ear. She wore two belts, and one had a sword. I tried not to stare, but I probably failed. We just kind of froze there, looking at each other.

“Ah, you have woken up at last. Thank goodness!”

“W-Who are you?”

I was still kind of dazed, and it took me a second to figure out what to say. She stood up and held out her hand, like she was offering to help me up.

“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Kia Diablo. I discovered you lying here as I was making my way through this area.”

Wait…now that she said that, why was I even lying on the floor in the first place?

“Um, my name is Shako Ikitayashi. Nice to meet you, Kia.”

She just smiled at me, like she didn’t think my introduction was weird.

“Shako, may I ask what has happened to you?”

“I-I don’t know. It was pitch black when I got here. I couldn’t see! I didn’t know what to do, s-so I just sat there and waited… and then he appeared. He started running circles around me, and then the room lit up. And then there was this giant mirror behind me—”

I turned around without thinking, but the mirror was gone. Just like Lucifer.

“A mirror, you say? I assure you, there was nothing of the sort present when I arrived.”

How was that possible? Did I just imagine it, or did it really disappear? Maybe I was just losing it. My breathing got all weird and shaky, and everything started to blur. My heart was pounding so hard it actually hurt. I ended up on my knees again before I even realized it. Then someone grabbed my shoulders.

“Shako, I must ask that you try to remain calm. Please, take a deep breath.”

Tears stung my eyes, but after a while, I managed to calm down a bit.

“I… I’m sorry!”

“There is no need to apologise,” she replied gently.

She stepped back a little, giving me space to breathe.

“You mentioned that someone was troubling you. Would you be able to describe their appearance to me?”

“He… had long red hair, and his eyes—they were bright green. He wore this strange sleeveless shirt with a red-and-white diamond pattern, and a pair of black trousers. But… that’s not what stood out to me. It… it was his smile. I-I can’t explain it. It was just… creepy.”

Kia let out a heavy sigh. I barely caught her muttering something like, “I knew it…” I hesitated, then asked, “Do you know him?”

She looked surprised and kind of flinched, like she wasn’t sure how to answer.

“Unfortunately, I do know of whom you speak, though I would prefer not to discuss him. He is a menace to our people, one who takes pleasure in tormenting those who are unable to defend themselves.”

“I think he mentioned his name was Lucifer.”

Kia’s face suddenly grew serious.

“That is what he calls himself, indeed.”

So that wasn’t even his real name? Who would actually pick a name like that? Only someone totally crazy, or maybe just obsessed with the devil. Or maybe both. Either way, one thing was obvious. He killed me. And somehow… I was still here. How was that possible? And how was I supposed to tell Kia that? Would she even believe me, or just think I was nuts? I didn’t really want to say it, but keeping it to myself felt even worse.

“Um… This might sound crazy to you, Kia, but…”

I took a deep breath and braced myself for whatever came next.

“That man—Lucifer… he—he killed me. I don’t understand how I’m still alive, or if any of it was real. I—I… ”

The words just wouldn’t come out. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t make sense of any of it. Before I knew it, I was crying again. I just sat there, hoping this was all just some stupid nightmare.

“Shako, look at me.”

I wiped my eyes and looked into hers.

“I believe you.”

“You do?”

She nodded and gave me a gentle smile.

“There are many mysteries in this world, even for me. However, I believe it would be wiser to continue this conversation in a more private setting.”

And then, she asked me something that I had never expected.

“If you are willing, you may stay at my home for the night. I believe it may help you to collect your thoughts.”

“A-Are you sure?”

She sighed, like she wasn’t totally sure about it herself.

“My permission you have, but others… might not be as consenting as I am. That said, we will cross that bridge when we get there.”

She walked towards the exit and took a torch from the wall.

“Shall we?”

I stepped after her and followed her into the darkness, not really sure what was waiting for me.