Many people wished to be reincarnated. It could be because they had regrets, it could be because they merely wanted another chance, and it could simply be because the idea of living a more exciting life was appealing.
However, nobody considered the costs of the process. First, death is required to be reborn. While some may claim it to be an easy feat in comparison to the reward however death should not be underestimated. Besides, after being reborn what is there for you to do?
In many worlds, it may be peaceful, identical to their previous one even, and yet in a small portion they will be forced to endure infinite dangers. A rare few of the reincarnated may thrive in such an environment however they would be the exception among the exceptions.
In essence, no normal person could survive reincarnation. Most didn't have the determination and even if they did, if they didn't have the proper starting point their lives would be doomed for failure. For that very reason…
"I'm happy to be alive." A young boy chanted, his hands clasped together in prayer and his eyes closed just as tightly, a slight grimace on his face after the words escaped his lips. The boy was only eight years old however his body was slightly more developed than most his age, especially when it came to height.
At his young age, he stood tall at 170 centimeters tall, over thirty centimeters taller than the average height for children his age. Besides that, however, there was an even more discernible hint at his oddity than his size.
His hair was a striking pink, similar in shade to that of Japan's famed sakura petals. While there were certainly many hair colors in the world, few could say they had seen naturally pink hair without telling a single lie.
The child was Damian Thaumiel, a rich child with a promising future ahead of him. Although it may be excessive to call him 'famous' he was fairly well known for being more mature than many of children older than him let alone those his age.
At the same time though… he was infamous for being an 'odd' child. While many children ran and played, he read. While others had to be forced to study, he did it willingly. And while others had to be forced to practice the arts, he took it in like a sponge.
Naturally, merely being a child that was eager to learn wasn't enough to be considered odd, especially to his kin. What estranged him was his frequent prayers. He didn't do it in public luckily enough however the rumors had spread and it was impossible to not consider him strange.
A devil, a pure blooded one at that, praying to their creator who had thrown them away without a care. Many still harbored resentment against that man for the war almost seven hundred years ago and although they didn't act on it Damian's prayers did anger a great many people.
"Damian, are you ready to go?" A mature voice full of kindness sounded out through the aged wood that made up the door to his room. Separating his hands the boy rose to his feet and quickly opened the door for the voice.
On the other side was a beautiful woman with shoulder length mint green hair, a kind and expressive face, and green eyes resembling emeralds. Covering her beautiful figure was a navy blue dress accompanied by elegant embroidery similar in color to her hair.
"Mother." Damian greeted the woman softly, a small grin of excitement on his face. He believed that it would be difficult to appreciate the woman before him since he was quite the special child however it happened naturally without any effort on his end.
"It seems like you're ready. Wonderful. Your father is waiting for us." His mother, Astros Astaroth, spoke kindly with a beautiful smile on her face. Grabbing her extended hand Damian allowed himself to be led through the halls of his home to meet his father.
Their home was fairly small for devils of their ranking, merely taking up the space of a mountain in property and roughly half a shopping center in terms of their home alone. It may seem large however compared to the entire cities that some of the 72 pillars owned it was extremely small.
Opening the door to their home's guest room there was a single man sitting on a nearby couch, a polite smile practically plastered on his face. Seeing the two enter, he rose to his feet without a change in expression besides a slight glint of joy appearing in his golden eyes.
Just like his child, he had soft pink hair though his was much longer, reaching well past his shoulders and barely touching his lower back. His face was extremely beautiful and his smile seemed almost too good to be real. He looked like he was free from worldly issues.
"Astor, Damian. I've missed you both." The head of the extra demon clan Thaumiel, Alastor Thaumiel, spoke happily in his ever calm tone as he brought his two dearest individuals into a large embrace.
"I've missed you as well dear." Astor proclaimed softly, practically melting into her husband's embrace. Alastor was practically the leader of the extra demon clans and served as the bridge between the remaining pillar clans and the extra demons.
"We have to leave soon." Damian reminded the two before they became too engrossed in one another. He enjoyed seeing his family enjoy themselves together however they were currently under quite the time crunch.
Their destination was the home of the Astaroth clan, the clan of which his mother was once a part. The party was for the heir's coming of age ceremony which happens when the heir became eight years old.
Personally, Damian didn't want to attend as the heir was somebody he didn't like but he understood that not only did his mother want to take the chance to speak to people she hadn't been able to for years but they simply couldn't avoid it.
If house Thaumiel, the middle ground of the proud pillars and the isolated extra demons, were to avoid such an event it would have drastic negative connotations in the political field. Many would take it as them abandoning their position even if they have no such ideas.
For that reason, he would attend and stomach seeing Diodora Asaroth once again.