The soft click of chess pieces echoed through the quiet hospital room.
"Move the bishop to B5. Check," said a young boy, about fifteen years old but looking far skinnier than his age. He was not even looking at the chessboard; he was instead watching a show on TV.
Across the bed, a young girl—probably nineteen—rubbed her head in frustration as she moved his chess piece for him.
"Ah, how about I move here? King to F8," she muttered, shifting her king.
The boy sighed in disappointment.. "Rook to A8. Checkmate. The score is one hundred seven to zero now."
"Ah, I completely forgot about the rook… okay, you win this round too, Liam." The girl pouted in defeat.
Liam, dressed in a hospital gown, replied nonchalantly, "Sis, you should've moved the king forward. That way you could've lasted a few more moves—though it was still checkmate in nine moves anyway."
Maria, the older sibling and the loser of the game, whacked him lightly with her palm.
"Ouch! Why are you hitting a patient? Hello, is there any nurse here?"
"I am just disciplining my brother. They will understand even if they come here."
"Huh? But I won?" Liam stared at her deadpan.
Maria coughed and changed the topic. "Anyway, Liam, forget about chess. After your operation, we'll play some—"
"Go? Shogi?" Liam's eyes brightened. He had learned about those games, but never got a chance to play them with anyone.
"No." Maria crossed her arms, making an X with them. "We're not playing those. You'll just win again."
She still had shadows of trauma from losing to her brother so many times. Deep down, she knew she'd never win against him in any game that required brains.
"Let's go to the beach, after your operation succeeds," she said instead, her eyes lighting up. "We'll watch the sunset, maybe play volleyball. It'll be so much fun."
Liam looked at his dreamy sister and coughed to pull her back to reality.
"The beach, huh?" He glanced down at his legs, covered by the sheets.
Once, Liam had been nothing more than just another boy from a small European country. He lost his parents when he was a child and was raised by his elder sister.
But at ten years old, everything collapsed. A terminal illness robbed him of his bright future, chaining him to hospital walls. With their parents' savings that they left and the kindness of strangers, he clung to life as a bedridden patient… but lost the ability to walk, to move, to even feel most of his body as time passed..
Maria realized too late that she had touched a sore spot. Panic flashed in her eyes.
"Okay, even if the operation fails, we can still go," she said quickly. "I may not be as smart as you, but I'll have no problem carrying you. Trust me—the sea is even more beautiful in person."
Liam smiled weakly. "Sis, you don't have to hide it from me. The doctors already told me… the chance of success is very low. If it fails, there's a high chance I won't make it."
Maria's eyes filled with tears, "Wait—you knew? Then why did you insist on doing the operation? Why didn't you listen to me?" She stood up, clutching his shoulders.
Liam looked at her face and spoke softly. "Because I'm tired… of living like this."
Maria's hands loosened on his shoulders. She didn't know what to say. Her brother had lost the ability to move all of his limbs now because of the disease. There was even the risk that his brain could shut down at any time, so he was always kept under watch.
"Sorry for raising my voice," Maria whispered.
Liam didn't reply, only smiled faintly. "It's okay, Sis. I've lived long enough already. If the operation goes well, it'll be like having a new life. If it fails… It's fine too. I have some regrets, sure—but I've lived a happy life, thanks to you." Liam's smile turned into a small grin as he said the last part.
Maria narrowed her eyes and reached out, ruffling his hair.
"You brat… you're still so young. How dare you talk like you're ready to die?" she said, frustrated, before pulling him into a gentle hug.
"I'm sorry, Liam. I know you're suffering… but you're all I have left. Please don't talk like that."
Liam could feel his sister's warmth and sorrow, but he didn't know how to ease it.
So he smiled and changed the topic. "By the way, did you find a boyfriend yet? What's going on with your life lately? Are you going to stay single forever?"
Maria's temple twitched in anger. She pulled out of the hug and twisted his ear gently.
"Hello? I'm the older sibling here. How dare you mock me for being single? Do you know how fun it is to be single?" she gritted out through her teeth.
Liam blinked innocently. "Well, you are not single by choice; you are single probably because you are just stupid. You have looks, thanks to our parents. But you're stupid, cry too much, get angry too easily, and… stupid."
Maria's face darkened. "What do you mean by only having looks? And why did you say stupid three times?!"
"Why did you say stupid three times?" Liam repeated her words with a teasing tone.
Maria looked ready to punch him on his head, as the siblings' playful argument filled the quiet room.
As they bantered, the sun outside slowly began to set, bathing the hospital in orange light. Night approached—and so did the time for the operation.
Liam didn't know how to tell his sister that he was scared. He didn't want to die—not yet. Not at the age of 15, at least. He wanted to travel the world, see beautiful places, taste every kind of food..
But life isn't fair to everyone—and it definitely had not been fair to him at all.
Still… as he looked at his sister scolding him, finger pointed in his face, Liam thought quietly:
"The cruelest part is… I might never see you again, Sis."
He wished for a miracle. But miracles don't happen just because you pray for them.
Some wishes are never meant to come true.
Some wishes are lost forever in the flow of time.
Some wishes will always remain… just wishes.
But perhaps—some wishes do come true, just in another way.
When Liam opened his eyes, he was no longer in a hospital bed.
His body was bound upright against a wooden stake. A huge purple magic circle glowed beneath his feet, radiating an ominous pulse.. The air reeked of blood, and around him lay heaps of corpses everywhere.
His breath quickened as panic surged in his chest.
"What happened? Is this the afterlife? Am I in hell?"
He searched desperately for at least one sign of life. And then—Liam saw him.
A figure cloaked in shadow stood nearby. At first glance, he seemed human… but horns jutted from his skull, and purple marks coiled across the right side of his face. They glowed faintly—eerily similar to the magic circle under the stake Liam was tied to.
"Interesting…" the figure murmured, his deep voice carrying an unnatural weight. "I was wondering why your soul was still here. Was it waiting to merge with this new soul?"
Liam's voice cracked, "Is… is this hell? Are you a demon?"
The horned man tilted his head as he walked in front of Liam. "Hell? I cannot say. But yes… I am a demon. They call me the Sky Demon—Alvemak Blackmist. I was summoned here thanks to your sacrifice, so I am curious. What happened to you? Why is your soul stronger than ever before? What's the second soul in your body?"
"What…?" Liam stammered with a confused voice.
Then, pain tore through his skull. His vision blurred, and memories not his own flooded his mind. Names, faces, histories that were alien to him—and yet, somehow familiar.
The life of a fourteen-year-old boy named Astro. Memories of kingdoms, guilds, and magic.
And among them… a story Astro once heard from his father—about a guild called Fairy Tail.
Liam's chest tightened. His mind reeled. This was a world he recognized—not from reality, but from fiction. A shounen world filled with adventure, tragedy, and bonds.
He gasped for breath, forcing his eyes to meet the demon's once more. He couldn't process everything yet, but one thought blazed fiercely in his heart.
'Am I… reincarnated into the world of Fairy Tail? What kind of nonsense is this?'
Liam's emotions were all over the place. He was happy to have a second chance—but it was a second chance without his sister by his side. And judging by the scene around him, he had started in hell level difficulty.
But as soon as he thought of Maria, his heart calmed down. His eyes regained focus as he looked at the demon standing before him.
The demon met his gaze. Their eyes were on the same level, despite Liam being suspended several feet above the ground.
The wind howled through the clearing, carrying the stench of dead bodies. A boy bound to a stake. And a tall demon wearing a cloak that was fluttering in the wind.
The demon's eyes glowed a bright crimson as he looked into Liam—no, Astro's—body.
Liam realized there was only one way out. His eyes began to glow purple as he stared fearlessly back at the demon.
If anyone could have seen that moment, they might have called it beautiful—terrifying, but still beautiful.
"You said you're a demon? Then how about we make a deal?" Liam said in a low voice..
"A deal with a demon? How stupid…" The demon tilted his head with a sharp grin. " But I'm listening."
It was there, on the blood-soaked ground of the Inca Royal Castle, that a legend began.
And like all legends, it began with a tragedy. With a death.
But as Astro and Liam's souls merged into one… it gave birth to something greater.
Something that will perhaps change the lives of many people in the Earthland, for better or worse.
Perhaps?