Chapter 1: 0. Opportunity

The devil, or so the boy had assumed, reached her hand out for him, grabbing tightly onto his neck.

“W-who… are… you…?” he managed to let out, though it was becoming increasingly more difficult to breathe.

The girl whom he called the devil stood there menacingly, simply letting out a smile of pity. Her grip on the boy’s neck became stronger with each passing second, and eventually, the boy passed out.

…

Or at least, that's what he had assumed. But as it turned out, the moment that the boy’s consciousness had left his body, he had immediately awoken within the same second.

“Hahaha! That’s so funny! The face you make when you faint is hilarious!” the girl laughed in tears, pointing a finger at the boy as if to tease.

Angered, the boy cocked back his right arm and quickly thrust forward into her skull… but his entire fist had phased through her head!

The devil stood there, unfazed by his action. “It’s simple. I can touch you, but you can’t touch me. Wanna see it again?” she asked, reaching out her hand at the boy to grab onto his neck.

Attempting to dodge, the boy jumped backward, accidentally landing on a can beneath him and falling over. “What the hell do you want from me?!” he screamed as he began crawling away from the girl.

She walked forward with a horrifying grin on her face. Her gorgeous light magenta hair and soft, poreless skin contradicted her threatening actions.

“Your name is… Alastair, correct?” she asked as she continued walking closer to the boy.

“How do you know that…?”

“Hahahaha! I know a great many things, boy. It's the year 2082 in Scorpion City. Robots have taken over the jobs of humans, political control has been completely influenced by big company names, and the sky has been clouded by light pollution. But these are just a few of the thousands of other problems! It’s the era of ‘High tech, low life,’ as you mortals call it.”

The boy- Alastair- frowned his eyebrows. “What?”

“Today there exists high technology. But this technology has failed in its task of serving the people. The disparity between social divisions has grown too large- thus, the low class has no means to benefit from this new age. The rich on the other hand, only grew wealthier and wealthier while simultaneously gaining more access to new technology, ultimately becoming more powerful.”

The girl walked over to Alastair and stuck her hand out, insisting that he stands. Hesitantly, he grabbed onto her hand and pulled himself up.

“Doesn’t this all feel… ugly? Disgusting, even? Don’t you want to end the way that this society treats it’s people?” the girl continued.

“Well, yeah. But it’s not like I care that much. My family’s pretty rich and I go to a well-renowned academy-”

“Silence! If you speak any more then I shall kill you!”

Hearing that, Alastair zipped his mouth shut. The two were in a tight alleyway, one with a bright neon sign above their head that read “Changa’s Liquor Store.” The rain from above dampened the boy’s hair, although the devil in front of him remained unaffected. It was a sight that defied all the natural laws of physics.

“You may call me Xogrunath, and I have come to grant you my powers!” the girl yelled out, proudly puffing her chest out.

The boy looked at her dumbfoundedly. “Xogru- what?”

…

“No matter,” Xogrunath continued, clearly displeased with his stupidity. “Accept me with open arms, and I shall grant you a life of guaranteed happiness.”

Guaranteed happiness…? Alastair thought. “And how will you do that…?”

The girl stared her diabolical scarlet eyes intensely at Alastair, reaching into his soul. “Power. Anybody you touch will fall under your absolute command for exactly one minute. That is the ability that I will grant you.”

…

“Hah…” the boy let out.

She looked at Alastair with a confused expression. “Hm? What’s so funny-”

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh man, it’s not even April fools yet! What the hell’s wrong with you? Do you take me for a fool or something? Hahaha!”

Xogrunath sighed at him, shaking her head in utter disappointment. “It seems that you do not believe me. Fine. Let me show you.”

Suddenly, she reached out her finger toward Alastair and gently tapped his forehead. In an instant, his mind became blurred- his eyes turning into a cloudy white, while his neck became loose, forcing his head to tilt down at the ground.

“Bang your head ten times against the wall,” Xogrunath commanded.

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…

With no control whatsoever, the boy began walking toward the wall on their left. Just as the devil had commanded, he immediately thrust his skull into the wall, not making a single sound of pain while doing so.

*BAM*

A mere scratch.

*BAM*

An open wound.

*BAM*

A few gentle drops of blood.

*BAM*

A stream of blood.

*BAM*

Then came so much blood that it had painted the entire wall red. It was a gruesome sight, though it was one that the devil herself was more than used to.

“Ok, ok, I wouldn’t wanna kill you!” Xogrunath chuckled, grabbing onto the boy’s head and pulling him far away from the wall. “Do you believe me now?”

Alastair began gasping for air while his body was in complete shock. “Hah… hah… what… what did you do to me…?”

“I told you, didn’t I?” Xogrunath smiled. “I can grant you power. Now, after experiencing it for yourself, would you like to form a contract with me? This power could be all yours.”

However, instead of asking any more questions out of fear and distrust, the boy smiled deviously at her, his blood continuing to pour out from his forehead. “So you’re saying that you’d make me a god on earth? In this dystopian world that we live in? You’re saying that with this power, I can get whatever I want, whenever I want?”

“Whatever you wish for will be yours,” she declared with a nod.

Uncontrollably, Alastair burst out into laughter. His voice echoed throughout the entire alleyway, pouring into the streets behind him. A few robots and humans stopped by and glanced down at the alleyway, though they had thought that Alastair was a psychotic man. After all, nobody else could see the devil except Alastair himself. Eventually, after about a minute of giggling to himself, he eventually calmed down.

“So? What’s this contract?” he asked, staring mischievously at the devil.

“Let’s keep it simple. By me granting you this power, you agree to listen to one request that I will be giving you once a day. Agreed?”

“A request?” Alastair asked, a bit skeptical.

“It’ll only be a request that involves the usage of your new power. For example, making a person punch another person. It’s all for the sake of entertaining me.”

…

The boy tilted his head. “And that’s it?”

“That’s it.”

Alastair let out a smile of satisfaction. “I, Alastair, agree to contract with Xogu… uh… what’s your name again?”

“Xogrunath…”

“Ah, right. I, Alastair, agree to contract with the devil, Xogrunath.”

“I, Xogrunath, agree to contract with the mortal, Alastair Demand.”

…

…

…

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