Keiichi was lying on the ground beaten half to death. He has been living in the orphanage all his life after his parents supposedly died in an accident.
Hunger. Bullying. Daily Beatings.
These were the least of his problems. At the age of 7, he was found by the debtors of his parents.
His age or circumstances didn't stop the debtors from pestering him incessantly, even the orphanage didn't protect him. He quit school and worked like a slave to get his freedom.
Day after day he toiled just to find himself embroiled in rumours after being spotted by his previous classmates. This brought public attention to the debtors landing them in unwanted trouble.
He had to brunt their anger. This was the straw that broke the camel's back. His eyes lost all colour, leaving him a shell of a human behind,
This constant torture continued for years. Until he found an opportunity to run away. In the end he was caught. And there was nothing he could do, being tossed around like a rag.
Which brings us to the current scene, his throat crushed, legs broken and tears running down his face. He couldn't even move a single muscle.
'For what I am living?', He wanted to die. But death didn't come easy.
He turned his head to look at his surroundings, inside a garbage bin in a back alley. It was smelly and dirty. Feeling around with his hands, he found a broken glass bottle. He brought it to his arms and stabbed it into them. It was a bit blunt so it took more time to cut deeper hence it hurt more than it should have.
As the blood slowly trickled out, life seeped out of him until he died.
Next morning a body found dead in a pool of his own blood and filth. He bled out over hours and his death was excruciating.
But still he had a smile on his face.
-Somewhere in God Realm-
Demon God Typhôeus was watching Keiichi. He had been watching this kid for years now. He couldn't help but feel hurt and anger towards himself, because he couldn't help Keiichi. As One of the Daemons, he should be able to but the heavenly laws prevented him from meddling.
-A little while later-
An orb of light was wading through a space called The Empty. This orb was losing its brilliance and slowly dissipating and vanish out of existence. How did it get here? Typhôeus pulled him out of the Reincarnation Cycle into The Empty to prevent him from having his memory reset.
'Where am I? Its so dark here.'
"You are in my realm, The Empty."
'Oh.... So I am dead.'
"Yes."
Keiichi looked around to locate the owner of the voice.
'Let me guess you are a god.'
"Demon God to be exact."
Keiichi was a soul but he could feel his back going cold.
'A Demon God? Why would a God bring me here?'
"Let me introduce myself. I am One of the Daemons, Typhôeus."
'Daemons?'
"Lets just say I am one of the Oldest beings in existence. As for why I brought you here."
Typhôeus went silent after that.
'....', He had nothing left so why should he care? But curiosity got the better of Keiichi.
Typhôeus sighed as he could read Keiichi's thoughts. He snapped his fingers.
Keiichi heard a noise and could suddenly feel his body. He opened his eyes to see a handsome middle aged man with dark hair and brown skin. He had a sorrowful expression on his face.
"Go on", Keiichi's rough voice rang out.
"I pulled you to this place because I wanted to see you and talk to you."
"Why would a god want to talk to me?"
"You are special."
"Special how?"
"You are not a human."
"What?", his mind became muddled but soon he recovered his thoughts.
"So what am I exactly?"
"That you will find out soon."
"...okay"
"HAHA Don't be like that."
Typhôeus suddenly became serious and said, "Don't blame your parents too much."
"You know my parents?", Keiichi's head cocked up.
"Of course I am a god."
"A demon god."
Typhôeus lips twitched and said, "A god nonetheless."
Keiichi eyes dulled as he spoke, "So where are they?"
"Dead."
"Were they murdered?"
"I can't tell you."
"Who killed them?"
"I can't tell you."
Keiichi fell in a dilemma. He took a look at the eyes watching him and saw pity. It was an experience like never before. He was annoyed after listening to Typhôeus's answer. This god may not be a bad one but he is not necessarily a good one either.
"...what can you tell then?", Keiichi asked in a low voice.
"They loved you very much."
Keiichi broke down in tears. He felt a hand rubbing his back until he finished crying.
"Boy- No, Keiichi your time here is coming to an end."
"But you haven't told me anything yet."
Typhôeus sighed and continued, "I will help you unlock your true form. That's all I can do for you, Grandson."
"WAIT-"
But Keiichi didn't hear the last words as his soul body disintegrated and formed a ball which went through to a portal.
Typhôeus looked at the portal with a gaze full of sadness.
"Daughter, I am sorry for being a worthless grandfather. This is the best I could do for him."
Typhôeus took a step and went away.
After that The Empty went silent again.
-Tokyo, Japan-
Oshiro Keiichi, a 17 year old young man, eerily similar looking to the orphan Keiichi but bloated in figure was sprawled on the ground with his head bleeding out. His growing obesity and muscle atrophy led to him losing his balance and slipping. His head hit the corner of the table. He fell unconscious, with no one to tend to his injury, he passed away silently.
He had been depressed for over 4 years after losing his father. Skipping school, binging snacks, lack of hygiene and locking himself in his room for months. He blamed himself for the accident, if not for him asking his father for a ride back. His father wouldn't have died due to driving on sleet, resulting in a crash. In the end, his depression became his demise.
After some time, the blood spread on the ground started receding to his body as an orb of light entered his body and Oshiro Keiichi started breathing again.
"My head hurts", Keiichi opened his eyes and looked around. He was surrounded by filth. He was annoyed that the god didn't answer his questions and sent him back to the dumpster once again.
The pain was getting unbearable for him to handle so he fainted again. While he was fainted, his wounds closed and his face regained its colour. Around an hour later, he woke up.
"I am alive", Keiichi could feel his body again. This time he looked around with a clear mind and found himself in a room filled with plastic bags, wrappers and takeaway cartons.
As he tried to stand up, he felt heavy. He had to use support from the table beside him which had some blood on it, which he assumed was his. He slowly wobbled to the mirror and a chubby guy with dark circles and haggard look came into view. His looks were really similar to his previous self just extremely unhealthy.
He then felt a jolt in his head as his consciousness waned. His head felt like splitting into pieces as memories of previous Oshiro Keiichi came flooding into his head.
The life experience of both now had combined resulting in his extremely detached personality. He was determined yet indifferent. His gaze fell at the 3 things on the table which were out of place- A bottle with mercury like liquid, a piece of paper and a notebook.
He reached out for the piece of paper which turned out to be a letter from his supposed grandfather.