Mickey jumped out of sleep, startled by the nightmare he had just had. However, his attention was called towards a blinding green glow, emitting from the medallion held in his hand. Out of instinct, he tossed it a distance away from him.
'What was that glow?' he thought, bewildered and unable to make sense of what he was seeing. 'Did my attempts to activate it finally work?'
The sheen from the medallion faded the moment he tossed it away. But that split moment glow was enough to deduce a theory. He descended from his bed in hopes of testing out his theory. Upon picking it up, he squeezed hard on it, and to his surprise, it glowed again.
The realization of success hit him.
"Eureka! Eureka!" Mickey cried out of joy and satisfaction,having finally cracked the puzzle. But was that just it? All his efforts for a simple glow?
'But I feel…nothing' Mickey pondered, examining every part of his body, with expectation written all over his face. 'That's it? A glowing rock medallion?'
"Is this some kind of sick joke? All my efforts to activate this in hopes of becoming some overpowered overlord… all of it gone down the drain?" Mickey growled, a blend of failure, anger, and resentment brewing within him.
'Was my grandfather's notebook lying?' he thought, not wanting to accept the reality he was facing. "The pact with a good demon was a lie all along."
He reached out for the notebook on the table and began to flip through it pages in search of the notes about demonic pacts documented in it.
"It says here that 'Demonic pacts are regarded as dark and sinister agreements between human and supernatural entities known as demons'…" he read the text upon finding it. Then he skipped a load of history about it. "…then it says here that, 'These pacts grant individuals access to unimaginable powers, knowledge or assistance in exchange for their soul or other significant sacrifices'…so why the f*ck aren't I feeling any different."
He wiggled his fingers and flexed a few muscles to be sure. Still feeling the same as ever, he proceeded to rip the notebook page by page. "What was I even expecting? Some form of fairy wings to suddenly sprout out of my shoulders?" he ranted in a fit of rage, feeling like a loser.
"Dad left for a stupid war against demons…What peak level bullsh*t is that? I wonder if the adults of today have some kind of death wish or something." he lamented as he kept ripping out the pages.
"Mom couldn't handle the betrayal of finding out dad had died, she followed next, forgetting she had a little son to take f*cking care of."
Tears streamed down his cheeks. 'This was kind of my last hope at paying life back with ten times the suffering I had to endure. But I guess life won out at the end.' he thought with a disdainful smile, "I trusted you, grandpa, but I guess you were bound to let me down like the rest."
As thought deeply of what to do next, something unusual caught his attention. It was the medallion. It was disintegrating, turning into glowing dust, which was gradually wafting away.
"Wait, what…!" shocked at the sudden turn of events, he stretched out his hand, trying to keep the particles from drifting away, but his attempt was useless. After a while, only the frayed necklace hanged in his palm.
"More than one disappointment in a day, huh?" he said, closing his eyes. However, as he did, his vision flashed on a pair of eyes, intensely gazing at him.
The eyes were hauntingly scary - a vivid red iris, surrounded by a pitch-black sclera with sinister crimson veins sprawling from the eyes and weaving into the skin around the eyes. The abrupt vision sent chills down Mickey spine as he opened his eyes.
At the moment, a thought surfaced - The nightmare.
"What was that eerie voice I heard?" he pondered, "does it have anything to do with the medallion?"
He tried to recall what the voice was rattling about the whole time, but he could remember nothing except for a few last words…
"Zany Zephyr… your amiable demon companion…??!" Mickey muttered, wondering whether he was right on the money or just his silly brain spouting out nonsense.
As soon as he muttered those words, a holographic screen appeared right before his eyes.
[CONGRATULATIONS!! The pact had successfully been formed, and you have been granted the ASTROPUNK SYSTEM.]
[Main panel:
---------------------
[User: Mickey Dilucca]
[Race: Human]
[Level: 1]
[0/100XP]
[HP: 10/10]
[Strength: 10]
[Agility: 10]
[Stamina: 10}
"What the f…" Mickey was about to cuss out of astonishment, but he was interrupted by a voice in his head.
"Ahem!" it cleared it throat dramatically.
"Behold, small and naive lad, as I step out from the shadows and into the realm of your reality. I am not you ordinary demon companion, my young friend, but a peculiar being hailing from the darkest recesses of the netherworld." The voice sounded raspy in his head.
Mickey's brow furrowed, and lips parted in wonder and confusion as he heard the voice nowhere but in his mind. A mix of fear and awe gripped him as he thought, "Is this my fate? Have I finally gone mad?"
"As much as you would have wished you were, you are not. But don't worry, for you will be, once you see the world laid bare. Now, don't interrupt me." said the voice in an annoyed tone. "They call me many names, but you can call me Zany - the master of chaos and trickery."
"Fear not, little one, for I have no malicious intentions tonight, no! I have worked alongside your grandfather for sixty years, and now it's your turn to embrace the whimsical wonders that only me a demon jester can bestow." Zany, the demon continued, "now let's take a stroll naive lad, before we do anything else, you've got a whole world to see."
"Ok-kay…"Mickey stammered, faced with no choice but to comply, for fear of this demon whose voice seemed to be echoing straight from his mind.
'This is what I wanted all along, right?'he asked inwardly, 'I should just play along before I lose a leg or two.'
___
INT. BUSY CITY STREET - 6 pm
The bustling city street was alive with activity. Pedestrians rushed by in a blur, going about their own affairs. Micky walked hesitantly through the crowd, his eyes wide with a mix of fear and wonder as the system screen occupied his field of vision. He read through the panels in his head, and as he did, it would automatically switch to the next panel.
[Skills & Attributes: locked]
--------------------------
[Skill point: 0]
Just like a newly downloaded game, it seemed nearly all the interfaces were locked and grayed out. Probably one needed to reach a certain level in order to activate it. Regardless, Mickey still felt intrigued by the thought of a gaming screen popping up with a display of all these features. This meant one thing to him. The chance that a lowly boy like him could level up like how it's done in the games, and finally show life who is boss.
[Store: locked]
--------------------------
[Unlocks at level 10]
The system was filled with locked panels, nothing he could do to level up until he was confronted by another panel that showed promise.
[Quest: Available]
---‐---‐---------‐-‐------------
[Major Quest: Advance to level 10]
[Auxiliary Quest: Use demonic vision filter]
[Reward: 1XP/1hr]
'Demonic vision filter?' Mickey thought it was a weird name, as though it was some kind of sunglasses. But since using it meant he could gather some XP, why not?
"Take caution!" the raspy voiced warned, "for existence in it raw state isn't easy to behold. It takes bravery. In the best case scenario, you will be driven insane. Worst case, you will be haunted by one of my kind."
"Tss!" Mickey sucked on his teeth while thinking, 'With how much you talk, I'm surely gonna be driven insane.'
He hesitated for a moment before activating the demonic vision filter with a mere thought. In an instant, an excruciating agony overwhelmed Mickey's eyes.
"Argghh!!!" he shrieked in anguish as it got worse.
The intensity of his cries caught the attention of the pedestrians, but instead of lending a helping hand, fear gripped their hearts, as they saw it to be a sinister force at play, another demonic possession that happen often.
The panic-struck crowd dispersed, leaving the bewildered boy to suffer alone. As the pain persisted, Mickey's eyes turned bloodshot, and a crimson hue consumed his vision.
"Sh*t this hurts, I double I can keep it up for a second, much less an hour." he blurted out, still consumed by pain.
"Open your eyes gradually," the voice said in his head, "You can do it."
"You think this is some kinda sick joke?" Mickey shouted on top of his voice. "I doubt you know how badly it hurts."
"Trust me, I do."
"You do?"
"Yes, that's my vision you are trying to adjust to." Zany revealed. "It hurts for even me, and that's because as compared to other demons, my vision has unique elements, ones that you will get to know in due time."
Upon hearing that, Mickey felt silly not to have figured this out on his own. Gradually, he opened his eyes, but as he did, fear washed over Mickey at sight of the world before him. It felt like he had been transported to a fantasy world. An existence where supernatural entities lived and lurked among regular humans.
As he walked, his gaze darted from one person to the next, his senses felt heightened. To his amazement, demons reveal themselves, shrouded in darkness, their malicious eyes peering from hidden corners and crevices.
They wore human disguises, blending seamlessly with the crowd. Only those like them could see the truth behind their facade. But now he could as well.
"Experience for yourself, the truth." Zany said as Mickey struggled to keep his eyes open due to the stinging pain.
An elderly woman with malevolent eyes stepped out from an alleyway nearby, her wicked grin sending shivers down Mickey's spine.
"Welcome to our world, my dear boy." she whispered with a haunted voice laced with torment that sounded directly inside his head.
Mickey's heart raced as he locked eyes with her. Not only could he see her, but also the malevolence and hunger for chaos, deep with her being.
"Unlike other demons, the weight and intangibility of what my eyes can see burdens it."said Zany in a sad tone. "Demons see demons, but I see what's within, and now you see them too. For you, it might leave long-lasting scars because you now share my eye."
Mickey had heard what Zany had said, and he was seriously regretting his decision. But the woman still stood before him, leaving him with no other choice.
"Who are you? What do you want from me?" whispered Micky in a shaky voice.
"Hahaha!" she chuckled darkly, her voice sending shivers down his spine.
"Oh, not just me, we've been watching you, little one. Such potential for destruction lies within you, just waiting to be unleashed." she said, her voice getting more scary. "If not for the menace behind you, I would have loved to experiment on you, Hahaha!"
"But all is not lost yet. No matter the greatness, there is always a slip up, a time of weakness." she continued, "until then, enjoy your time."
With that, she spirited away.
"Why... Why can't anyone else see her?" Mickey asked in a barely audible voice as his gaze shifted to the oblivious pedestrians passing by.
"Look closely, young lad. Every person you see, every innocent face... they are blinded to the darkness that thrives in their midst. Only you and a few others, like you, can see the truth. Only exorcists, as you humans called them, can witness the demons that walk among them."
A chilling realization washes over Mickey. The world he once believed to be safe and ordinary regardless of the constant battles against demons, he heard on radio, was nothing more than a facade. The demons, the wickedness, have been silently manipulating mankind.
As he continued to stroll down the bustling street, Mickey's fear began to transform into a steely determination. He had seen the hidden truth and now understood the darkness that clouded the world and the constant battle against it.
'This world...what grandpa and father fought to protect… it's not what I thought it was. But I won't let them harm any more innocent souls. I'll use this power to protect those who can not see." Mickey declared to himself.
"Hey! Not so fast 'warlock', at your current strength, you can't even snuff out a demon bug." Zany teased, "Overconfidence will only end you up as demon food. I will have to whoop you into a decent exorcist if you want to have even the slightest shot at hunting my kind."
[Auxiliary quest complete]
[1/100XP]
[Keep up!]
"Some nerve asking me to keep up." Mickey snarled, "What do you think I've been doing all this while wearing sunglasses?"
"Haha! Take it easy, lad." Zany laughed.
"Wait a second," Mickey said, sniffing the air. "What's that smell? Is it me or humans now smell like tasty treats??!"
***