Chapter 1: The Birth of a King
> "Life doesn't hand you crowns — you take them, whether the world wants to give them or not."
I lived a normal life on Earth. School, friends, family — ordinary, boring, forgettable. I never thought about power, destiny, or fate… until the day I died.
It wasn't dramatic. No supervillains, no explosions. Just a careless moment, a flash of metal, and darkness. Pain and cold swallowed me whole. I thought it was the end. But it wasn't.
A voice filled my mind. Calm. Endless. Powerful.
"Ten wishes. Speak, and they are yours."
I didn't hesitate. I didn't need to think. One word for each wish:
"Power."
"Immortality."
"Knowledge."
"Speed."
"Strength."
"Control."
"Luck."
"Domination."
"Awareness."
"Glory."
Each word shot through me like lightning. The world trembled. My soul screamed with energy. I felt it — every limit of my human life breaking apart. I wasn't human anymore. I wasn't alive in the normal sense. I was inevitable.
When I opened my eyes, Earth was gone. Instead, I stood on a high cliff overlooking a valley filled with chaos. Below, humans fled, devils battled, and angels watched silently from above. A battlefield. A world I had only read about in myths — or maybe, in the dim memories of another life.
I breathed in. The wind smelled different here. Cleaner, sharper. Alive.
I flexed my fingers. A simple thought and the ground trembled beneath me, subtly, almost imperceptibly. I smiled. I could do anything.
It wasn't the kind of smile that scared people. Not yet. It was calm, quiet, confident — the smile of someone who had already won before the first move.
I stepped forward. Not to fight. Not yet. First, I needed to see this world, understand its rules, its players. And there were many.
The city below — Kuoh Academy — looked peaceful from here. Students walked, laughed, carried on with lives that would soon become meaningless in the shadow of what I could do.
I let my presence drift invisibly toward the school. Humans couldn't detect me. Devils couldn't detect me. Angels? Maybe. But I doubted they would care about one soul so subtle.
And then I saw him. Issei Hyoudou. The human destined to be a Red Dragon Emperor. Weak. Clumsy. Completely unaware.
I laughed softly, quiet enough that no one else could hear. Perfect. I would let him rise — let him think he was the main player. He would climb the ladder, face challenges, make enemies. And all the while, I would shape him, guide him, test him.
Kuoh Academy was full of people like him: devils, fallen angels, and humans playing roles they didn't understand. But I understood. Everything. And now, everything was mine to shape.
I stepped off the cliff. I didn't fall. The air held me. I hovered, testing my new body, new power. One thought, one motion, and I was across the valley in an instant. I could move faster than anyone could blink.
The world would soon know me. Not as a student. Not as a human. Not as a devil or angel. They would know me as king.
A king who had already won.
I descended into the city, calm and invisible, my mind already plotting, already observing. The game had begun. The players didn't even know the rules had changed.
And me? I was ready.
I wandered through the streets, watching the ordinary and the extraordinary alike. Humans hustled to classes, oblivious to the powers at play above their heads. Devils whispered in corners, their sharp eyes scanning for threats that weren't aware of my presence. Angels lingered in the skies, serene, indifferent, and yet—just faintly—curious.
Every step I took, every breath I drew, I felt the potential of this world stretching out before me. It was vast, complex, and waiting. Waiting for someone who understood its true rules. Someone who wasn't bound by fear, morality, or weakness.
This world was mine to play with. Mine to conquer. Mine to rewrite.
And yet, I didn't rush. Patience was a weapon just as sharp as any blade. Let them think they were free, that they were powerful, that they could control their own fate. Let them struggle, stumble, and make mistakes. Every misstep, every failure, every small victory or loss—it was all part of the stage I had prepared.
When the sun dipped low in the sky, painting Kuoh Academy in a warm orange light, I finally allowed myself a full, long breath. The city glimmered below, and I imagined the countless stories, battles, and betrayals that would unfold here.
This is only the beginning. I whispered to myself. A king doesn't announce his arrival. A king shapes the world silently, then reveals it when the time is right.
I smiled again, sharper this time, hunger and anticipation coiling in my chest. My journey had begun. And everyone in this world, whether devil, angel, or human, would soon learn the truth: that a king had been reborn.