"FUCK!"
James screamed as he turned around and tried to rush down the stairs but what appeared below the stairs was not the steel door but a fiery pit. He could see his own visage, his black hair in a mess and his crimson eyes stared at him with hate.
"GiVe Me BaCk My BoDy!!"
The figure below screamed and James immediately knew, "DJames…" he muttered as he turned to look for another exit. There should be one but as he turned what greeted him was a handsome man sitting on the luxurious sofa.
Crimson lights illuminated the room giving an eerie feeling to those inside.
"Like the new threads?"
The handsome man asked, he turned to James, his face was familiar but…
"No way", James spoke with shock as he stared at the face that he had been staring at for more than three decades.
It was his own face and the moment he spoke, the man who bore his previous lifes visage smiled as he answered in a teasing tone.
"Ohh~ Yes way~"
James did not know what to make of this, the handsome man, despite having his previous life's face was able to exude an attraction that would make even men call him handsome. It was not an androgynous image, his previous life's face was not that delicate.
But… there was something about him…
"Good, you noticed it. I can't really stay long so let me make this quick."
The man calmly approached James who found his body frozen, unable to move, he could only stand there and await his own fate.
"No need to struggle, I won't hurt you, in fact~ I'm giving you an opportunity."
James did not know why, but he felt that he didn't mind listening to the man. His voice was not the same as that of his in his previous life…
No… maybe it's the same? Hearing your own voice through recordings is different from listening to it while talking…
James pondered but the man did not really bother to snap him out and just continued his explanation.
"Honestly…. Well I couldn't really be honest. In fact, you have no choice on the matter~ I've already made my choice, you will be my inheritor so~ Good luck~ Also, don't bother about the kid downstairs, he's set to burn in hell for a couple millenia. No way he's getting out"
The man left after talking, the things he said left James speechless but he did understand one thing.
"Hell… inheritor… did I just talk to Lucifer? THE DEVIL himself?"
His mind went into overdrive, the darkness soon vanished and the light came back without issue.
Yet, James was unbothered, he didn't even seem to care, instead he was more focused on trying to understand what had just happened.
He was trying to think of the possibilities, what kind of inheritance he would get. The possibilities were endless!
"Am I gonna become like the comic book Lucifer? Will I become the son of God? Holy shit, it totally matches! The abandoned son of God, really matches with my whole shlick-"
He started rambling, unable to contain his excitement, the words that should have been thoughts had now become audible words.
Fortunately, no one else was in the room.
James spent a couple minutes thinking over what kind of inheritance he would get until it came.
A searing pain enveloped his whole body, James felt as if he was enveloped by fire, like he was burning inside out.
No! I need to persist!
Standard fiction logic states that only if he perseveres through the pain would he be able to get the full benefits of this transformation!
America's Ass did it, Anime MC's did it, and what did they become?
LEGENDS
James did not want to give up this opportunity as he kept his consciousness awake the whole time.
Seconds turned to minutes, minutes turned to hours… at least that was what James felt. The more one perseveres through pain, the more one could feel time slow down.
Especially when you know that it would end by a certain point, even if the end point was unknown some people would still move forward if they knew a reward awaited them.
James was not going to be the one who gave up, he WILL get this power!
Time continued to pass, James did not know how long it had been but he persevered.
Soon, the pain subsided, the burning he felt was getting weaker and as the pain vanished completely and James was enveloped by cool air something flashed before his eyes.
Red text formed a sentence which red-
[You have been chosen by the deceased Lord of Lust Asmodeus to inherit his powers. In order to facilitate your demonic ascension, you have been awarded the Lust System!]
"Lust… system?"
Was the last thing James thought as his mind finally broke, he did not fully understand what had changed or if anything did change. All he knew was that he got something and as the joy of success washed over him, the relief had released his mind and-
*BANG*
James collapsed on the floor.
༺𓆩༒︎𓆪༻
"Ugh…"
Lying on the wooden floor, the sun hit James face, waking him up from his slumber.
Opening his eyes, James could trace the ray of sunlight that hit him and found the source to be a skylight on the roof. A window that was positioned there to brighten up indoor spaces using natural light.
James raised his body, his back cracked as he could feel the effects of sleeping on a hard floor. Fortunately it was wood and not tiles or cement, that would have been worse.
Standing up, James tried to recall what exactly happened last night, he sat on the sofa and thought hard. As he was trying to get a grasp of what happened, a red line caught his eye.
Halting his thoughts, James refocused on the line, he then followed it and found that the line circled around the sofa-
"Wait!"
James shot up from the seat, he then stood on the table in front of him and looked down and what he saw left him speechless.
On the floor, a large crimson circle was drawn, inside it was another circle that bore a weird mark. It looked like some ancient run or something but it had what looked to be a classic depiction of a demon's tail-
Between the two circles, James saw letters, ones that he could read which spelled out…
"YASMODA? AYASMOD?"
[Asmoday, that is the sigil of Asmodeus, the demon of Lust who had recently passed. He had no inheritors and chose to pass on everything to a chosen soul]
"I see, quite ironic isn't it? The demon of lust not having inheritors, didn't he have kids? Or is contraception something that demons also use?"
[The offspring of the Lord of Lust all perished, unable to bear the burden of his power]
"So I was able to bear it?"
[Yes]
"Wow, was I the first choice?"
[No, you are 152,942,251st human who was tested]
"I see… could I ask, what happened to the rest?"
[They all died due to a heart attack after ejaculating for hours nonstop]
"... what?"
[The power of lust could not be contained in a vessel that does not bear the essence of lust. One who walks the path of lust must be able to bear the temptation]
"So everyone else got sweet dreams?"
[Yes]
"But I was burned alive!"
[T'was the remolding of your body and soul, simply put, you have been transformed to a demon. It was supposed to be a painful process. BTW, you could have allowed yourself to pass out, that would have relieved you of the painful experience]
"That was not a test?"
[No, you have passed the test by not getting horny after Asmodeus disappeared]
"..."
When James realized that his struggle to get through the pain was worthless, his mind blanked for a moment. Turning towards the source of the voice, James was about to punch when-
"Huh? Who was I talking to?"
It was at that moment that James realized… he was alone… at least, he should be-
[Yes, you are alone, the system exists within your soul. It acts to support you and help you acclimatize to the abilities you have inherited. It also acts as a lock, you could not access the full range of abilities afforded to you… for now.]
When he heard the voice once more, only then did James realize that the source did not come from any one direction…
[I'mIn YoUr HeAd]
"Funny"
Strangely, despite the weirdness of it all, James felt his mind calming down suddenly. It was as if everything was normal and he did not need to really worry about it.
[The instincts of a demon, you have become immortal, mortal weapons could hurt but never kill you. Even holy armaments could only force you to go through a healing process. Only true destruction by the creator could make you perish, that or willingly giving away your power and erasing your existence]
"Really convenient"
James answered as his questions were immediately answered by the "system".
[Didn't I tell you? I'm in your head, no need to talk, just think]
"..."
How to mute
[Process Unavailable]
"So there is a way!"
[...]
Why the hell does he make a sentient system? Didn't he hear about skynet?
James thought and as he expected a reply came.
[The system was made by the demon who needed to be in constant physical contact with others. This could not be done easily in the mortal realm, as such, the system was made as a stopgap. The more you unlock the power passed on to you, the more uncontrollable your desires become. The system acts as the partner]
So you have a human or… demon form?
[Asmodeus believes that you are capable of maintaining sanity so long as you have a conversation partner. Unlike him, you need not physical contact, only something to stave off loneliness]
"..."
James too a deep breath, the exchange he had with the system gave him a good amount of information and it just continued to annoy him.
"I'll get used to it", James mumbled as he started to get himself settled in his new home.
[Sure you would]
Ignoring the replies of the "system", James fixed his things and inspected the penthouse. His steps were light and he felt a weight lift off his shoulders. The worry he had before and the pressure to do something had vanished as he found that his mind had started to relax, something that was rare even in his past life.
The new power he got, his immortality, that was all he needed.
Who cares about proper planning, living for centuries would get me rich even if I worked simple jobs. I could even steal money from the rich and "die" no one would know! Now this is what reincarnation should be!
[Mission 1: Seduce 10 individuals from different races]
[As the inheritor of Lust, you must be able to not only control your own lust but manipulate the lust of others. This world has many races, with each race having a variety of subspecies. Look for women (or men if you swing that way), seduce them and make them beg for your love and affection.]
[Reward: Love Gauge]
"I stand corrected"
[Since this is the first mission, no punishments or time limits would be given, please do well to accomplish the mission]
"Aaaannnd there we have it… the classic do or die scenario… since no time limits or punishments were given, can't I just ignore it?"
[...]
"The silent treatment? Not gonna work on me"
[...]
"Love Gauge sounds interesting though…"
[...]
"Plus, I could probably get stronger abilities…"
[...]
"Being led by the nose by a weird system doesn't sound so bad now that I think about it…"
[...]
"Haaa~ I'll do it"
[....]
"SAY SOMETHING FOR GODS SAKE!"
[...]
(ﾉಥ益ಥ）ﾉ ┻━┻