[Author Note: Hey everyone! It's been a minute since I've updated anything. I took some time off to work on my writing and handle some real-life stuff, but I'm back. Hope my writing's better than before—tell me what you think!]
Rain hit the pavement like shards of broken glass.
Rowan never thought his life would end here—on an empty street lit only by flickering lamps and the metallic scent of an oncoming storm. He had sprinted out to help a stranger, a woman screaming about a child standing in the middle of the road with a speeding car barreling toward them. Instinct moved faster than fear. He dove in without thinking, shoving the kid out of the way—
—and then the world turned into impact, metal, and pain.
He blacked out for who knew how long before suddenly jolting awake to a stabbing pain in his midsection. His eyes cracked open, vision blurry, breath ragged.
The same car he'd pushed the child from was now lodged into his lower half, crushing him against a bent streetlight pole. He tried to move—not happening. Only his eyes obeyed, barely.
And then he realized something else:
He wasn't just pinned.
He was missing everything below the waist.
"Well… damn," he thought. "Looks like I'm not making it out of this one. And it wasn't even Truck-kun—just some regular-ass, out-of-date car I can't even name. Even if I lived, I'd be stuck in a wheelchair or hospital bed. And great… even my family jewels didn't survive. Guess this is really the end, huh?"
He gave a dry, shaky laugh.
"Ugh… I wish I could at least have one more smoke before I pass on. Well… at least the kid's safe."
In the distance, the child had run back to their mother—the same woman who'd screamed earlier.
"What a shitty lady," Rowan muttered weakly. "Why the hell'd she let her kid run into the street? God, my nerves are acting up… calm down, me… haaa…"
He shivered.
"Why is this death taking so long? And that lady didn't even say thanks—just ran off talking on her phone. At least call an ambulance, woman… This is just my luck. Curse my need to do good deeds… and damn this rain…"
He exhaled hard.
"Why couldn't I die faster? The guy in the car's head is basically a pincushion. Airbags didn't even deploy. His brains are sitting on the hood… well, what's left of them anyway."
From the corner of his eye, he spotted a homeless man standing in an alleyway, staring.
Rowan croaked, "Hey. You. Come here."
The homeless man flinched. "M-me?"
"Yes, you. Do me a favor. Find my… lower half will ya?"
He grimaced. "Check my pockets. You'll find a lighter and some smokes. Bring 'em."
"O-oh… alright…"
The man wandered off, gagging the moment he found the severed lower body. He dry-heaved.
"Hey!" Rowan barked. "You better not be puking on me! Just hurry up. Be a man and get the smokes!"
Shaking, the man dug into the pockets, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and a black lighter.
"I—I found them…"
"Well hurry, idiot. I'm dying here."
The man nodded rapidly. "R-right."
He hurried back, hands trembling, holding the pack out.
Rowan stared. "Genius… I can't exactly move my arms at the moment. Take one out, stick it in my mouth, and light it."
The man complied, fumbling but managing to place the cigarette between Rowan's lips and spark it.
Rowan inhaled deeply… then exhaled a thin stream of smoke.
"Aah… better. Finally… I can pass on peacefully."
He managed a tiny smile. "You can take the rest. And whatever else was in my pockets. I won't be needing them."
"Th-thank you, sir…" The man scurried away to collect the dropped items.
Rowan let the cigarette slip from his mouth. His vision blurred. His head slumped. His heart slowed to a distant drumbeat.
Then—
Darkness.
His soul lifted from his ruined body… but instead of rising, it drifted downward, past the mortal world, past Hell itself—
—into a place of endless black.
——Some time later——
Rowan opened his eyes.
No car. No pain. No rain.
He lay on a black surface that rippled like liquid with every small movement. He sat up slowly.
"Where the hell… am I? Is this what Hell looks like?"
The void stretched infinitely in every direction—no sky, no ground, no horizon. The only sound was silence itself.
Then something moved.
A silhouette formed before him—human-shaped only because his mind forced it to be. It was darker than the darkness around it, a shadow deeper than black. Its presence twisted the air, ancient and unknowable.
A voice echoed from nowhere and everywhere at once—eldritch, resonant, not spoken, but imposed upon reality.
"Rowan Takeda."
Rowan blinked.
"Well… are you Satan or something? I mean, I know I'm not a saint, but what the hell(no pun intended) why'd I end up in Hell? I literally just saved a kid."
"Thou art not the one you call Satan," the being intoned. "Nor is Thou a god. Thy may refer to Thou as |€|*{£#¥|+]|^{=\€#+]%~"
Rowan's expression flattened.
"Yeah, no. I'm not pronouncing that. I'll call you… Rob."
"Thou is unable to comprehend Thee. Rob… shall suffice."
"Good. So, Rob—where is this place?"
"Thee stands within the Realm known by many names… Abyss. Limbo. The edge of creation."
"So why am I here?" Rowan demanded. "Shouldn't I be in Heaven or Hell or reincarnated or something?"
"Thou does not know. Souls do not drift here naturally. Thee is… an anomaly."
"Great. So what now? Am I stuck here?"
"One of three things shall occur," Rob said.
"First: thy soul will slowly dissipate, as mortals are not meant to remain here.
Second: thy soul shall be devoured by the beings imprisoned within this Abyss.
Third: Thou may remain here for eternity well.. unless."
Rowan stared. "Yeah, no, I choose none of the above. What's this 'unless' you're hinting at?"
"The Abyss is the prison of beings who threaten the balance of Heaven, Earth, and Hell,"
"You said this place is a place for those who threaten the balance earlier. So I take it you're one of those beings?"
"One could say that."
Rowan sighed. "I knew it."
"However," Rob continued, "Thou may send thee away from this place. Thy body is destroyed beyond repair. While Thou could restore it, Heaven would execute thee immediately—your name is erased from the Book of Life and the cycle of reincarnation of this world."
"…Nice. Love that for me."
"Yet there is a loophole. Thou cannot return thee to thy world… but Thou may reincarnate thee into another."
Rowan's eyes widened. "Wait—you can isekai me?"
"Yes. Thou has enough power to do so."
"And the catch?"
"For entertainment. Thee is the first soul Thou has spoken to in centuries. Thou shall watch your new life unfold."
"Fair enough," Rowan said. "So… can I get wishes? Anime-style?"
"Thou may receive four wishes. Five, if thee includes the choice of world."
"And my memories?" Rowan asked. "I don't want to get mind-read and instantly exposed."
"Thou shall protect memories of thy old world and all other worlds, as well as future knowledge of thy next world. Memories made afterward shall remain."
"Perfect. Okay—send me to Fairy Tail, Earth Land, year X754."
"Granted."
"My first wish: reborn as Yami Sukehiro—appearance and abilities."
"Granted."
"My next: make me a Half Demon from Fairy Tail's Underworld, and Half High Human—a race that doesn't exist yet."
"A hassle… but granted."
"Next, well this isn't really a wish but if you could I'd like to ask that Yami's Dark Magic be transferred properly. Not Fairy Tail's Darkness Magic—his actual Dark Magic that absorbs magic. Ki stays Ki. His swordsmanship becomes Sword Magic."
"Accepted. I can do that, now for your final two wishes."
"I want Satan Soul, with forms of Gimodelo, Slotos, Plumede, Walgner, Zagred, Megicula, Lucifero… and Adramelech."
"Granted."
"And lastly, a Guild Master System that activates when I make a guild—letting me summon anime characters as guild members and manage a guild base."
"Accepted—with one exception. All summoned beings will appear as infants. Thou shalt raise them. Thou becoming too strong too quickly would not entertain Thee."
A blinding light consumed Rowan.
Heat surged through him—then cold. Weightless. Small.
The sound of a voice blurred. Cries echoed. The world felt enormous.
A newborn.
Alright… I can accept that… Wait… where'd the floor go? Where's Rob? Why can't I see—? Everything's so blurry… And what is that sound…?
A cold wind brushed his skin. Pine trees. Wildflowers. Running water.
Arms lifted him—wrinkled, worn, but gentle.
A trembling voice spoke:
"Oh heavens… a baby? Out here? Oh, you poor thing…"
An older woman, he realized faintly.
His new eyes focused just enough to see her—an older lady who still carried youthful beauty despite the grey threading her black hair. Silver eyes full of warmth. A forest-green shawl draped over her shoulders.
"This forest is no place for a child… Come with me, little one."
She held him close, soft and warm. As he felt the bust of her large chest squeezing him tight
And she whispered a new name into the quiet forest:
"I'll call you… Yami."