"Where is this?"
In a haze, the boy lying on the ground slowly opened his eyes.
Around him was silence, the kind that felt like death itself. In this darkness, where he could not even see his own hand, he could hardly sense his own existence.
"Why am I in a place like this... what happened?"
He tried to recall. Flashes of broken memories passed through his mind before everything finally froze on the image of a massive truck.
So, he had died?
His old life had been meaningless, with no power, wealth, family, or love. He had only wandered the streets like a walking corpse, existing rather than living.
Yet even if he had nothing to cling to, he still felt unwilling.
How could life end just like that?
Dazed, he forced himself up and staggered forward, heading toward some imagined direction.
He was dead, but his consciousness still lingered.
This place was neither heaven nor hell. He didn't know if he could find an exit, but he had to keep moving.
Boom!
Without warning, the surrounding space collapsed. The ground beneath his feet vanished, and he fell into endless nothingness, drifting helplessly.
Light eventually began to appear around him. Then, with a crash, he plunged into a sea of fire.
"So hot... it hurts!"
The scorching air burned everything on him the instant it touched his body, clothes turning to ash, skin following right after.
Waves of blistering heat engulfed him, his flesh rotting away.
The pain was unbearable, like his skin was being peeled and his muscles torn apart. He nearly lost consciousness.
But when he blinked, his body was restored again. Only for the next wave of searing flames to rush at him once more.
"Hell, is that all you've got..."
Clenching his teeth, he endured. His body broke and reformed, again and again, growing tougher with each cycle.
He lost track of time. At last, the flames could no longer destroy him. He opened his eyes.
A layer of blackened material came off his body like old skin, revealing hardened muscles beneath.
"Is that it?"
Almost as if it sensed he had grown used to the torment, the fiery inferno shattered, leaving him once again in darkness.
"What now..."
This time, it was not his body being tested. It was his mind.
A hunger unlike anything he had ever felt tore at him. In a brief lapse of focus, his head was stuffed with strange, chaotic things, pressing until it seemed ready to burst.
Numerous starving demons lunged at him. But when they touched him, they disappeared. Their memories, however, slammed into his mind, fighting to overwhelm him.
Doubt crept in. Who was he?
Other voices and identities swarmed his mind, all seeking to crush his will and seize his body.
"Enough of this... no one decides my life but me!" Clutching his head, he shouted angrily, searching for his own voice among the noise.
Time passed. Finally, the invading thoughts sank into silence, buried deep like stones in water. His willpower triumphed.
Never had he felt such clarity. He could sense every part of his body, every breath, every muscle under complete control.
Power flowed endlessly through him.
Boom!
Just as he reveled in the newfound strength, the scene shifted again. Light radiated from his body, spreading outward. Through that glow, he saw creatures crawling from the shadows, grotesque and twisted, and figures in black robes wielding weapons.
"This is..."
He didn't know the identity of the robed figures, but the creatures, he recognized them. Back when he had been alive, he had known what those shapes meant.
Cursed spirits.
An odd thrill coursed through him. Thinking back on everything he had gone through, a suspicion formed in his mind.
Ztzz!
A crackle of lightning danced in his hand, turning into a trident.
"Turn illusion into reality. If I believe it's real, then it is real!"
A sharp pain throbbed faintly in his right eye, but his face lit with a joyful smile. Through that unnatural eye came broken fragments of memory. They didn't interfere with his consciousness but instead taught him how to wield power.
In the eyes of the cursed spirits and black-robed men, he was just a boy, but in that moment he moved as if he had lived through countless reincarnations.
Combat experience was engraved into his body. He rushed forward, trident flashing. In the blink of an eye, all the obstacles in his way were cut down.
"Pathetic."
He laughed coldly, his blood boiling with exhilaration.
This was power.
He clenched his fist, clearly feeling his strength. He had no desire to rule the world. He only wanted to do whatever he pleased.
"Young one, you have walked through five of the Six Paths. None erased you, and none accepted you. Now, choose your destination."
A rift opened above. From it descended a girl with a glowing halo above her head, and a pair of pure white wings that stretched wide from her back.
Her face was youthful, but her expression radiated kindness, almost divine compassion. Anyone who looked at her would feel the urge to follow, to obey her every word.
"Come to Heaven. Let us become beings of the sky together."
She reached out her hands, gazing at him with the eyes of a loving mother. Behind her, six great doors slowly opened.
"So this really is the cycle of reincarnation... the Six Paths leading to rebirth."
Naraka, Preta, Animal, Asura, the Human world he once lived in, and behind the girl, the Deva Path.
He could feel that what was now within his reach was a peak that he had never been qualified to touch before.
"I've walked through five of the Six Paths. How could I leave Heaven out?"
He stepped toward her. She smiled, already expecting this. Surely a lowly human wouldn't refuse the chance to become an angel standing at the very top?
"But I refuse."
The three words struck her like thunder. Before she could react, the trident pierced her body.
"My life will always be mine to decide."
His left eye gleamed like sapphire, but his right eye glowed crimson, a bright number "6" etched within.
"Impossible..."
The trident slid free, and her beautiful face went pale as blood spilled from her lips. As she collapsed, she could not believe it. How could a mere human endure all Six Paths and resist her spiritual control?
"Goodbye, foolish woman. I'm going to live a perfect life."
It was his gamble.
Turning his back on her, he walked toward the Human Path. He wanted to see. If he carried this power into that imagined world, would his new life be different this time?
* * *
Night. A certain day in November, 1990.
The Zenin Clan, one of Japan's three great sorcerer families.
Boom!
Thunder cracked across the sky as if heralding the world's change.
"Hah? What the hell do you mean, old man?"
Inside a plain, unremarkable house, a burly man with a scar on the corner of his mouth glared at the elder who was holding a newborn child. His voice was laced with disdain.
"He's just like you. Born without any cursed energy. Our Zenin clan has no use for trash like him. If you don't want him, then let him hang under the cherry tree like that woman did."
The elder tossed the baby toward the man without care and walked away, not even bothering to see if he would catch him.
"Another Heavenly Restriction, huh? We don't share the same mother, but looks like the two of us are natural-born losers."
Toji Zenin glanced at the child he caught, then frowned.
Something felt off. His honed body granted him senses sharper than any ordinary man.
This newborn radiated a presence strong enough to make even him shudder.
"If they don't want you, then you're already dead to them. From now on, you'll follow me. Your name will be... Mukuro."
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Its a new novel I'll be posting. The Mc will be different than other three ones as here he will have family and he will care about them. Like his brother, sister in law, nephew and friends. He won't be a loner but he's not a goodie two shoes Mc either. He's ruthless, and pretty arrogant (not the stupid kind) because he knows he's very powerful. Anyways, hope you guys will enjoy it.