Heaven or Hell - wherever I am, I deserve it. Xavier thought, his mind a dull throb, floating in endless darkness.
He couldn't remember much from the life he had - just numbness and the endless gray it brought.
Sighing deeply.
Maybe ending it was the only crime I ever committed, and if that earned me Hell. Well, then I had to accept it.
The endless darkness finally receded, and his eyes blinked into an endless, starless void devoid of any light or sound. He wandered around for what felt like an eternity.
His mind on the verge of breaking and shattering into fragments of nothingness and a likely descent into madness itself. His very soul on the verge of breaking apart.
Yet, he struggled to hold on. Allowing himself to be carried by an invisible current as he floated across this endless expanse of eternal darkness.
No friends, no family, no lover, no enemy, no hatred.
There was absolutely nothing.
Nothing could exist in this endless space of nothingness.
Hence, he had no choice but to be all alone for what felt... like an eternity.
He had no idea of how long he had been on this endless voyage of his. But at a point, it abruptly came to an end.
Xavier felt a strong force pulling him.
He was scared at first.
But immediately shoved down the unsettling ease that gnawed onto his heart.
What more is there to worry about? Worst-case scenario… I finally get the death I deserve. Xavier thought as he got dragged into what seemed like an endless whirlpool. A blinding ray of light flared into his eyes, causing him to involuntarily close his eyes.
His eyes opened, and he found himself amidst a ruined building. His lungs felt like they were on fire, a weird hot feeling coursing through his entire body.
But that feeling disappeared just as it came.
The roaring flames burned chaotically, and the building crumbled into a pile of dust and shards…one after the other. His hands were clutched against his forehead as he struggled to make sense of the various scenes rapidly flashing past his eyes.
He had suddenly found himself in a mysterious space that seemed to encompass endless knowledge. Xavier blinked as he tried to make sense of this unusual surroundings.
His eyes swept past the various lights that seemed to contain infinite untold secrets and knowledge. Staring at the sky if it could be called one, he could see seven stars in the sky. Each one seemed to represent a different aspect of life. And just as he stretched his hands toward the seven stars in the sky, his hands got pulled back as he realized that the strange vision w-was gone. All that remained…was memories that slowly flooded in.
He felt as though something had exploded within his mind, but then a faint glow seemed to radiate from his body, bringing every single piece of chaotic memories back together.
'Is this a joke…' Xavier thought at first. The idea of transmigrating never occurred to him.
So many chaotic thoughts flooded his mind.
How had he transmigrated? Why had he transmigrated and so much more? At first, he thought perhaps a god decided to give him one more chance after all the pain and trauma that he had gone through. But he easily waved that off. If suffering is the criteria for transmigrating… Then the whole universe will be filled with transmigrates at this point… Is there even a universe?
Xavier thought, according to the memories he had gotten. This Xavier he is inhabiting was born into a family of hunters - humans who hunt supernatural creatures, demons, cursed spirits, etcetera. This sent strange electric currents running through his body.
With this, he didn't have to be scared of the various hidden threats lurking within the shadows. His body trembled ever so lightly from the various memories he had on these so-called supernatural creatures.
Yet what was funny, and ironic, yet scary was the fact that the previous Xavier, after setting up a petrol explosion to momentarily escape from a demon, had died from the unraveling of some memories of some sort.
How can someone die as a result of a hidden memory? Xavier was visibly shaken, his legs wobbling subtly and what heightened this unsettling feeling was the fact that these same set of memories and some of his normal memories were sealed together!
The thought of the seal on the memories breaking open sent cold chills running down his back.
Cold sweat broke along his spine as he struggled to pacify his thrumming heart.
He finally calmed down after a couple of second.
Exhaling sharply.
Aright…I just happened to be a lucky fellow and got transmigrated. His mouth twitched at this thought of his. But he had no choice anyway; he could go on with that or keep cranking his head around the unfathomable mysteries behind his transmigration.
"So what next?"
He glanced around him; fallen buildings, charred structures, and broken wood were reflected into his pupils. While he allowed his eyes to move around the place. He caught a glimpse of a lady… a large stone pressing her abdomen onto the ground, with blood gushing out uncontrollably from her body, forming a pool of blood around her.
He immediately moved to save the lady. But just as he took his first step, the various pieces of fragmented memories came flooding in. His heart tightened as he sucked in a cold deep breath at the thought of almost saving a demon!
He exhaled sharply, his hands trembling lightly as a lump of saliva got forcibly drowned into a bottomless pit, "So it's safe to assume that she's a demon," He glanced at her warily, whilst her cold black pupils lingered on him.
Since demons aren't from this world and are from a place known as Hell…is it the same hell as the one rumored of back on Earth? He thought.
Yet, he couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation especially because thinking too much strained his brain and probably his mind.
Most likely because he was still finding it challenging to adapt to this new body of his. The memories and knowledge included.
According to the knowledge he had on this so-called demons. They aren't from Earth and, therefore, need an anchor for when they make it to Earth. This leads them to possess the humans of the society, and this lady is such a demon.
He had a light smirk spreading across his face, upon realizing that he didn't need to be scared of her. In such a weakened state. 'There's no way she can pull off her possession stunt. Or can she?' He thought, visibly shaken as he approached her, one step at a time.
Arriving before her, he pushed up the courage to speak.
"Say! Who sent you?"
The demon glared at him with a cold look. He felt a cold chill run across his back, and he felt his legs giving in. But as an experienced keyboard warrior. He could only force down the unsettling fear, he braced himself as he tried to appear calm.
"How about you tell me who sent you to kill me?
"As long as you do that. I promise not to kill you."
Seeing the hesitation etched onto her face, he knew he had to press on as the rule of psychology in his novel Back on Earth agrees with attacking the mind whilst it was faltering.
A light smirk spread across his face.
"This is kind of a fair deal to me.
"Or don't you think so?"
The demon was silent for a while, obviously struggling to come to a decision. Her thoughts ran amok.
'If he does happen to search my memories, I might probably suffer a fate worse than death. But…I have to…' She gritted her teeth. I have no other choice.
With clenched jaws, she knew she didn't seem to have any other choice.
"His name is Azazel.
...A higher demon."
'Hmm… Weird. Why does the name sound so familiar?'
With a narrowed gaze, he questioned:
"What does the demon want from me?
"Why did he order for me to be killed?"
T-his… How the hell am I supposed to know? With clenched jaws and gritting teeth, "You can ask him when you see him." She spat out irritatingly.
Xavier exhaled lightly, not knowing how to press on.
But at least on the bright side, I know who's trying to kill me, and on the well bad side, I don't understand why this demon is after my petty life. And to make matters worse.
This fucking stupid demon doesn't seem to have an inkling about the higher demon or his plans.' Xavier facepalms himself, resisting the deep urge to slap the demon.
'Who even takes a mission without knowing anything about said mission.' He thought irritatingly.
Calming himself down, he decided to leave this place as soon as possible. With the flames surging upward and burning wildly, the chances that they would attract the attention of a few cops were rather high.
He immediately dashed forth, preparing to leave the demon to her miserable life. Well, she can bleed to death, for all he cared.
But the demon who realized that he didn't need to kill her since she would still bleed to death, got angered.
Her veins thrummed with negative primal emotions.
The thought of having been led by the nose of a little bastard irritated her as she spat out.
"You weakling, your father will never be proud of you. You are just a pathetic bastard who runs away from the truth."
She had made use of an ability fully possessed by higher demons and partly by a minute number of demons. Mind read… subconscious dive. Whatever name you give it, its goal is simple. It simply enables the demons to know of a person's hidden thoughts, motivations, fears, and goals so it could be used as leverage to get under their skin.
Xavier suddenly stayed rooted to the spot, his legs unable to take a single step. His command was useless and futile, as his body trembled visibly.
Somehow he felt as though the demon had struck a nerve. A fragile part of himself… He wanted to refute. Fuck at least say something to counter her words. Yet nothing came out of his trembling lips.
A cold look slowly crept up his face. Previously he had decided to leave her alone, but now that she had succeeded in angering him… She could go to hell!
With an expressionless look etched across his face, he turned back, bringing out a mini-book from his pocket before scrolling through the pages, eventually stopping at a particular page that read: Romaniakn Exorcism Spell.
The demon glared at him, if looks could kill, he would probably be dead by now.
She wondered what he needed a book for.
'Smack her to death?'
She thought, forcing laughter internally.
Xavier steadied his breathing, his feeling a mix of thrill and anger. The thrill that he could try out one of the mysterious supernatural aspects of this world and a strange, indescribable anger towards the demon for using a soft, subtle part of his memory against him.
He couldn't accept it, he was unable to tolerate it. And he definitely wouldn't let her go scot-free. He couldn't.
He closed his eyes before it snapped open as his lips moved, and weirdly enough. He could actually read, understand, and pronounce every single strange word before him!
These words seem to carry a mysterious force as they resonate with reality, sending formless waves of energy toward the demon. She let out a loud, blood-curdling scream as she felt the pain of a thousand needles boring through her soul, then deadly hammers shattering her soul into pieces and fragments. Such a pain couldn't be described in words, she literally felt like dying!!
She waddled in her pool of blood, deep crimson and dark as she tried all means to alleviate the pain. Yet nothing seemed to work. And worse of all… The pain was only intensifying.
Xavier, who was already engrossed in this mysterious state of having a weird invisible force feeding him with a strange energy, continued reading at a fast pace. Heightening the pain and blood-curdling scream that escaped the demon's lips, of course, the engrossed Xavier was completely oblivious to this. Scrolling as he continued to recite the chant.
When his voice finally died down. His eyes slowly moved towards the demon, the mysterious glow in his eyes having vanished. He felt a cold chill run across his back. T-his… Was this done by me? His lips shivered uncontrollably as he saw a dark reddish pool of blood. The body of a lady had been utterly disfigured and dismembered by some mysterious force, immediately followed by a dense smoke that suddenly shot out of her body.
Startling him as he fell onto the ground. The dense eerie black smoke immediately vanished into the ground, leaving a charred metallic stain on the ground whilst Xavier simply stared blankly ahead of him, shocked and completely shaken by the scene before him.