"What… is this?" Lixue carefully touched the newly 'tattooed' scar.
Then, his pupils contracted as he remembered the way he died. He also clearly remembered what he said and thought before that. He looked right into his eyes on the mirror's reflection.
This color…
"Yes, my child, you are correct."
His reflection suddenly talked by himself. It startled Lixue so much, but it could only be seen from his shaking pupils. Before he could react, the room temperature suddenly dropped, and a terrifying pressure crushed Lixue's body down into kneeling.
Strong emotions gripped his heart. Nervousness, reverence, hope, curiosity, yet there was no fear.
"Are you… The Devil?" Lixue carefully asked as he strenuously tried to lift up his head.
"I have many names, but in your terms, you are correct." The Devil's voice was inciting like the whispers of evil that could easily lure away humans into temptation.
"Lord Devil, did you… save me?" Lixue gave up and obediently looked down to the ground.
"It is hard to say. I merely answered your prayer. You wish for death, and I granted it."
"My Lord, I am indebted to you. If you wish to take away my soul for repayment, I will happily oblige."
Lixue wasn't merely bluffing. He didn't understand why he was back at the time when he was 17 and he didn't really care. Sure, he wanted revenge if he really went back in time, but he would prioritize the Devil's order as it was the one who answered his prayer. The only one.
"My child, you have been forsaken by your father god and I heard your wrath. I pitied you and lent my hand to you. But you didn't summon me, and we didn't form a summoning contract. Thus, your soul is not mine."
"My Lord, if you wish to form a contract with me to take my soul, I am willing."
"It is unnecessary. You have given me the required amount of wrath to be my subject. Although you have died, your wrath burned down the string of fate of this world until this point of time. This is your rebirth. But you are now not a human, yet not a demon either. You are now a half-demon." The Devil calmly stated.
Lixue was shocked but quickly calmed down, "My Lord, does this mean I'm a half-demon subjected to you? I exchanged my wrath for your benevolence, but being rebirth is the result of my own. Because I am not entirely dead, but indeed have died, is it correct if I assumed that my demonization when I was in the state of death wasn't completed and now I am stuck in between?"
"Yes, you are correct, my clever child."
Lixue felt a cold hand touched his head. He shivered both from the cold and his instinct from his past-life trauma and tried to avoid it. The Devil wasn't angry and lifted his hand.
"I have watched your life ever since your parents died. God has forsaken you since then, yet you never sought out my help until the second before your death," The Devil gently pinched a lock of silver hair without touching Lixue's head and rubbed it, "My child, do you want to seek revenge?"
---
Less than an hour later, there was only Lixue left in his bedroom. The room temperature was normal and there was no terrifying pressure from The Devil.
He looked down at the pair of glasses given by The Devil. Slowly, giggles were heard coming out of his lips which was gradually stretching into a smile. He covered his mouth and tried to hold it in. His body trembled from ecstasy as it shivered down his spine.
"Ha…Haha…Bahahaha…HAHAHA…AHAHAHAHAHA!! AHAHA! HAHAHA!!!!"
He couldn't stop himself and gave himself away to bathe in ecstasy. He laughed with a crazed smile and glowing red eyes. There was a glowing red mark in the middle of his pupil, the sign of The Devil. Even his body was slightly bent as he looked up to the ceiling unrestrainedly.
"HAHAHA!! HAHAHAHA~~!! AHAHAHAHA!!!"
He spun and dance around his room happily for a while until he slumped back down to his bed. Even with all his ruckus, there was nobody who knocked on his door to complain about his crazed laughter.
He brushed his fingers on his neck and remembered his lord's words. The glasses were attached with a silver chain and were placed on his head by Lixue. On his hand, there was still one more item.
He walked back to the mirror and wore the plain black collar from his lord. It looked like it was made out of leather, but it was lighter and more comfortable. There was no feeling of suffocation and it felt like he wasn't wearing anything at all.
He has worn many different collars in his last life. From his half-brother, a collar that could electrocute; From that trafficker, a collar with solid material and no design at all; From that pervert collector, a pet belt-like collar that basically choked him all day long; and more from others. Even one person could make him wore more than one collar based on that person's mood that day.
But this was the best collar he ever wore. It was comfortable and wasn't meant to constrain or a symbol of ownership. It was a gift and meant to protect him.
He said that for half-demons and even demons who were once human, although they were practically immortal like a real demon, their weakness was the place that caused their death when they were human.
If they were stabbed in their heart, they should protect their heart especially the scar. If they were shot in the head, they should protect their head, especially the bullet hole.
Fortunately, he died from his head ripped off, so he needed to protect where his neck detached from the main body.
Why fortunate?
If he died from his body being devoured by the beast, that meant his whole body was his Achilles heel. Just the thought of it was terrible.
After he calmed down, his eyes went back to their original color. It was strange for someone to have silver hair, yet their eyes were as dark as the abyss. His hair was inherited from his father and his eyes were inherited from his mother. His baby brother was the opposite.
Remembering his family, Lixue's eyes became colder several degrees. A faint red emerged, but it quickly faded.
He looked at the time displayed in the mirror. In this era, almost every mirror was input with a digital clock at the top. The inventor said that it was to remind people who took so long dressing up themselves or putting on makeup that they forgot the time.
Normally, people each had their own personal communicator in the form of a bracelet which could of course tell the time. But for him, he was prohibited to own one.
Although he lived in a palace and was a genuine royalty, he was lower than a servant in this majestic cage.
The current king had 2 sons. His father was the first prince that should've inherit the throne. But, his father met his mother who was a common-borne. Not to mention, she was not a Thesia Empire citizen. Eventually, his father gave up the throne and eloped with his mother to an independent planet.
When his family got involved in a terrorist attack and died, an envoy sent by the king arrived just after the funeral finished. They told him that his father was actually Thesia Empire's first prince and the king wanted him to go back home to take care of him.
Of course, he didn't believe it at first. But he indeed found proof from his father's safe, and the envoy also brought proof themselves.
But even after all that, he still didn't want to go to Thesia Empire. He wasn't stupid, though unfortunately, he wasn't smart enough. Knowing that his father came to an independent planet even though he was a prince, there must be some reason. At that time, the only thing he could think of was his father's marriage with his mother wasn't approved by the king.
Besides, he was also not interested to be a royalty. He was already happy enough living in the independent planet. His home and memories were there and even if his family was gone, he still had his friends.
But then, the envoy started threatening him that not answering the king's summon was equal to rebelling. Though it wasn't as serious as treason, it was still a major crime.
Because of this, he was scared and finally agreed to see his so-called grandfather in condition that he could come back home immediately after.
The envoy gave him his promise. Of course, it was as empty as a slave's salary.
When he stepped into this majestic cage, it was from that moment his life as a human ended.