The year is now 2020, a remarkable era brimming with technology that once belonged to the realm of imagination. We have portals that create instant connections with people across the globe, compact libraries that can hold countless volumes of literature, and even spacecraft capable of whisking someone to the moon and back. And amidst all these wonders, there’s us, humans -beings endowed with the intellect and creativity to forge such extraordinary inventions. To this day, we continue to shock ourselves with the things we manage to create, questioning ourselves how we managed to turn sticks and stones into Bluetooth… Laughable. Of course we could do that. After all…


    We were created in God’s image, and he turned the infinite abyss into the world as we know.


    <hr>


    A weary sigh escaped the boy as he slouched over an old bench in the middle of a park. Akuma, a teenage boy with dark hair that was quite long for a male, couldn’t help but think his presence was a bother to the people around him. Honestly, he had every reason to believe that, as any pedestrian who happened to look his way would jolt up, almost dropping their phones as they hurried past him. It wasn’t as if he was ugly or anything like that, quite the opposite actually, it’s just that he had a nasty crimson glare that seemed to scare even would be delinquents. The kind of glare that makes it hard for people, especially students, to approach him. But alas, this was the card he was dealt and so, he had to play it proudly.


    After another weary sigh, he curled farther back, his neck slouched over the bench’s backrest as he gazed up at the clouds. Currently he was skipping school, so he was still in his school uniform. Now don’t get me wrong, he isn’t someone to be lumped in with petty delinquents, believe it or not, he was the number one in his grade when it came to academics. It’s just that… he’s what we call… a loner. Not by choice, but because he’s constantly getting into fights with delinquents for apparently “looking at them the wrong way”, in which no matter the odds he’d always come out victorious. Such a feat -along with his strange name and rare appearance at school- has earned him the nickname “The Lazy Devil”.


    For a moment, Akuma could’ve sworn he heard the feint “meow” of a cat, causing him to subconsciously turn his gaze to its source. Of course, that sudden shift in his posture and gaze spooked any pedestrian who happened to have looked his way in that moment, their footsteps almost doubling in speed as they pretended to be busy on their phones.


    Akuma had finally gotten tired of his clearly unwanted company and decided to make their days easier. And so, he left, going wherever the wind felt like taking him. It was then that he spotted a black cat hopping over a brin fence at the corner of his eyes. He wasn’t big on cats or anything, but he found himself wondering if that was the same cat he had heard earlier on that bench. Perhaps, or perhaps not. It’s not like cats were a rare sight or anything.


    He stopped by a vending machine and suddenly had the urge for some donuts. Unfortunately, the button didn’t seem to work, or perhaps it was the machine itself that was broken. Whatever the case, he’d already put his money in, so believe me when I say he was gonna get his damn money’s worth. He tried everything: kicking, punching, elbowing, stomping, hell even headbutting the thing. It got so bad that the pedestrians around him mistook him for a petty thief trying to steal donuts of all things. It’s a wonder they hadn’t called any authorities.


    Finally, after much needed pounding the pack of three donuts fell, returning Akuma’s warm expression. Naturally, the people around him were convinced he’d just stole those from the machine but they last thing they were gonna do was risk death against the Lazy Devil. I mean these people had families to return to, lives to care for.


    If you get down to his routes, Akuma is a rather simple person. He believes that school is important and so he gets good grades. He believes training is essential, and so he makes sure to spare with his brother and father every now and then. And strangely, he believes heroes are needed in this world, so he does his best to save anyone he can. Not the kind of hero that preaches about some perfect utopia without evil or despair, but the kind of hero that should look to create a world where both despair and hope can live in harmony, where evil and good can be seen as equals. And so, regardless of who they are, he believes he should save them.


    Now that I think of it, who ever came up with the idea that a world brimming with good -one devoid of all evil- was a “perfect” utopia? Wouldn’t that contradict the entire meaning of the word? I guess it really just depends on how you define “perfection”. In Akuma’s case, perfection is a state of balance.


    For example, if there are three people, each craving an apple, and coincidentally there happens to be only three apples in the basket, wouldn’t someone refer to such a situation as “perfect”? Another example. Suppose you’re out shopping for supplies and after grabbing everything you want, your total comes out to $200. Checking your wallet, you find $200 on the dot. Would one not claim such a thing as “the perfect amount”?


    When you get down to it, perfection isn''t to have more, not less, but to simply have a balance -a compromise in between of sorts. It really gets me thinking. If there was something in this world that was always “just enough” then surely that would be perfection.


    At least, that’s what Akuma would tell you... Because his goal is to one day fix humanities flawed sense of perfection and create a world where humans no longer fear death but can still enjoy life.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Now don’t get the wrong idea, he knows that such a world is impossible to create as a human being. People simply lacked the power needed to materialize such a vision. Akuma understands that better than anyone. Which is why his current goal is to become a being who can do it. His deepest wish is to become God, a wish that he''d embodied to the point that he often called himself God, as if hoping to one day manifest it into existence.


    Perhaps it''s that belief that brought him to his current predicament.


    To his left, a deafening honking as well as bright lights that obscured his vision of the fist of pure steel, a truck as some would call it. He was airborne with no way to move as he’d hurled himself in the middle of the street to save a black cat from being run over. Some would label such a death as utter stupidity or at least something dangerously close. I mean he had a family waiting for him at home. He did amazing academically, and though he had no friends, there was one person, one person who he’d do anything to be close with.


    Alas… Akuma Tiryns… has died.


    <h2>***</h2>


    The enigmatic man bowed deeply, his face a canvas of regret and sincerity, causing the radiant halo that hovered above his rich golden hair to dip down in sync with his magnificent wings. He apologized over and over while doing so, iterating that such a meeting was crucial for this world to keep going on. And no, I don’t mean something small like the earth, I mean the entire damn universe, hell, whatever’s past that too. That’s simply how grim their situation was.


    Akuma, a teenage boy who’d just had his life cut short for the purpose of saving a cat, hadn’t heard a word of the mysterious Angel’s desperate pleas. Actually, he had heard it, every word too. It’s just that his eyes couldn’t help but be glued to the feathers that floated gracefully from the Angel’s enormous wings. In particular, his gaze followed one feather specifically as it gently descended upon the glass-like floor below, dancing with the wind as it did.


    “Um… Are you even listening?” The angel questioned as he peeked from below, before raising his head.


    “Huh? Oh yeah. You said something about God dying, yes? And that the one who killed him has now taken over heaven?” Akuma’s patience started to wane, and with a voice that grew in irritation, he added, “And you felt the need to bring your ass down to Earth to recruit me for some sort of revenge mission because, for whatever reason, you can’t handle it yourself… That about summarizes it? Just grab the dead guy, huh? Surely, he’ll do what I want since his life is over. Well news flash, I won’t! You can send me to hell or whatever else you had in store, I’m not doing it.”


    A bead of sweat trailed down the angel’s face.


    “Umm… You really have quite the imagination, don’t you? Look, it’s true that I want you to help me reclaim heaven, but it’s not like I’m sending you to another world for it.”


    “……………”


    “Wait, this isn’t where I get isekai’d after dying to a truck?”


    “Okay, so I don’t know what an ‘Isekai’ is but in the first place you haven’t even died yet.”


    Akuma blinked in awkwardness, a bit confused as he clearly recalled being run over by a truck.


    “What? Didn’t I get hit by a damn truck? Wait, more importantly, is that cat alive?!”


    The silence was broken by feint chuckles, as well as the angel’s futuristic armor clinking against his body as he did. It was a brilliant white, reminiscent of freshly fallen snow. The armor enveloped his upper torso, forearms, and thighs, with a few tough pieces here and there. Honestly, it looked like something straight out of a sci-fi movie.


    “You’re just like how I remember you." The angel chuckled. "You’re more curious about a cat’s safety over the fact that there’s an Angel is in front of you. And here I was ready to explain how I know your name.”


    (Yeah, I already know how you know my name. You''re the angel that’s in charge of guiding me to the afterlife. I bet you’ve just been counting down the days, huh.)


    “Pardon me for being rude but we must skip the formalities. I''m running out of time, you see.” The angel said, his initial warm and inviting tone now tinged with urgency. “As I said, I need your help, Akuma. I need help in saving not only our people but the entire world from my father’s murderer. Only you have the power to-”


    “Excuse my interruption, mister-uhm… angel guy? Sorry, forgot your name. But this is the second time you’ve said that word and I just really need some clarification. By ‘our people’, are you perhaps referring to other Angels?”


    “Yes exactl-”


    “Yeah… I see now, you’ve got the wrong guy for the job. Look, I may be God, but I ain’t really that big on roleplaying. Do you see any wings on my back? Well? Do you?”


    As Akuma rambled on, the angelic figure''s patience began to fray, culminating in a sudden outburst:


    "LISTEN!!"


    With the force of his shout, combined with his fierce crimson gaze, you had better believe Akuma shut the hell up. If his goal was to intimidate, he had succeeded spectacularly. The boy stood frozen, suddenly attentive, even adopting a salute in his shock.


    “The world as you know it is not how it should be. After slaying God and taking the throne for himself, the false God is attempting to change fate. He plans to rewrite this world’s story, and I need your help in restoring it to its natural order.”


    He took a deep breath, regaining his composure.


    “It seems I’m running out of time. Before you leave, I shall release the seals on your soul. Also, after you leave, please visit the Church of Michael, and tell the priest what you saw here.”


    "Church... of Michael...?”


    As those final words echoed in the air, a surge of energy coursed through Akuma, as if his very essence was elevating beyond the confines of the physical realm. The surroundings blurred and faded, reminiscent of drifting through space. Suddenly, a brilliant light enveloped him, its warmth wrapping around him like a comforting embrace, blinding him with its radiant glow.