Shu fell to the floor, gritting his teeth against the pain. It felt like someone had reached through his chest with a phantom hand and was squeezing his heart. The pain wasn't stopping. No... as a matter of fact, it just kept on getting worse and worse.

Shit, shit shit shit. First he'd heard that disturbing tearing sound and felt something rip free from within him, then the next thing he knows, his heart feels like its going to explode! Why the hell was he having a normal, human heart attack?

Was this even a heart attack? Why wasn't the pain stopping? Why hadn't he lost consciousness or something. Anything would be better than this. This abyssal, hellish burning pain in his chest.

Slowly, the glass filled with ever more pain, and finally overflowed.

Shu howled in pain, crying and screaming as he writhed around on the ground. He was vaguely aware of Nithra trying to pour healing potions on him. Even that psychotic, cold-blooded companion of his was showing him a very worried expression. In fact, Shu almost found it amusing that Nithra showed him such a sight.

Her face was full of despair and she had tears in her eyes. Sorry, Nithra... sorry.

”No! Master no don't leave me, don't go please! No no no!” she cried. Shu could only barely hear her at this point. The pain was his world now. Everything was pain. Pain and suffering and death. He couldn't hear his own screams anymore, so either he had stopped screaming, or was doing so soundlessly due to the destruction of his vocal cords.

Or perhaps he had finally lost consciousness. But if so, why was he still lucid? Hmm. The pain felt more distant now. He could still feel it, but it felt like it was happening to someone else.

Edward felt himself being pulled towards the gate of light, a warm comforting light spreading towards him. He thought he could hear bird song. The trill of an unknown species, exquisite harps. Ridiculous, he thought. Edward had never been a believer, and yet he here he was, sucked closer and closer to the light, as if a giant vacuum cleaner was hoovering him up.

Or rather, hoovering up his soul. Wait, who was Edward again? He was Shu. Shugireth Darkstar, the master of Pandemonium. This was no place for him. Shu shook his head and focused his gaze on the gate. What had before been blurry and fluffy and comforting, turned instead into a burning pit.

Screams of pain emanated from that flaming pit. To be honest, it was as if he was peering right into hell itself, what with the flames, impaled humans burning and being poked by red things wielding pitchforks.

Shu laughed. What the hell was this? Devils? Haha. Demons? No. Those things did not qualify. He was a demon... but wasn't he a human? Who was he? Edward or Shu? Slowly slowly, satans rectum, the portal through which he had peered closed, leaving him once more in total darkness.

”You are you.” A beautiful female voice said. The words washed over him, caressing and cleansing. It felt like he was being washed. He felt so refreshed. So clean.

”You are you.” She repeated. He wanted to ask who she was and what such a beauty was doing in a place like this, but Shu knew that was stupid. He couldn't see her, nor did he know where this was. He could only hear her beautiful voice. But still, it was enough.

He was himself, of course. There was no doubt about that. Home. He should go home now. Shu willed it to be so, and soon the pain grew nearer and nearer until he embodied it again. This time though, it was as if his capacity to endure it had somehow increased? Or perhaps the pain was subsiding.

Either way it was a good thing. The world was blurry all around him.

I am me. I am me. I am me. I am Edward Dickins. I am Shugireth Darkstar. I am the sick human. I am the little demon. I am the Master of Pandemonium.

I am me.

Satisfied now, Shu felt the pain melt away, replaced by a great all embracing warmth. This was good. Ah, excellent. He closed his eyes and relaxed, letting the warmth wash over him. Just a little nap. He gave in to the comfortable warmth and let it sweep him away.

He had a strange dream. He dreamt that he died and went to heaven, but at the last moment heaven became hell. He rejected both, then darkness engulfed him. He would rather consign himself to eternal oblivion, it seemed, that give in to the evil God of Abraham and his satanic counterpart, if indeed that was what he had seen. To be honest, he was confused. It was a strange dream. Incomprehensible.

Shu opened his eyes.

He felt fine. In fact, he didn't think he'd felt this good before now, though he did sense something strange. Yeah. There was an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach as he sat up and took stock of his surroundings. He was in a spacious room, lying in a huge king sized bed. Assuming he was still in the Sanctuary, Nithra had probably taken him to one of the suites.

Shu cocked his head. Something was definitely off about his body, he thought as he sat himself up. It appeared that the white bedsheets had been singed with a human outline.

No, demonic outline? but that couldn't be right.

Just as he was about to further investigate this mystery, the door exploded inwards, splintering into a thousand pieces.

Nithra attached herself to him like a snake, curling around him like a steel wire and squeezing with all her might. ”I thought you were dead!” She sobbed. ”Master.. master.. I'll kill you, you stupid bastard! Aaahn, master is alive, oh thank... thank...eh?” Shu hugged her back with a smile on his face. Then he noticed something and cocked his head, looking down at her.

”Did you get smaller Nithy?” Shu said, but even as the voice left his lips, he realized. He knew now what that strange feeling was.

”Holy shit! Quick Nithy, bring a full length mirror.” Shu said in his new or old voice. It was certainly deeper than the high pitched boyish voice he'd gotten used to, but it still sounded similar. Squealing with joy, Nithra flickered, returning almost instantly with a huge mirror encased with gold and silver decorations depicting monsters on the frame. It looked like she brought one of the monstrosities in the welcome foyer of the left wing.

Chuckling to himself, Shu said. ”Well, I guess my dream of becoming a student will remain just that. There's no way people will believe I'm a greenhorn if I look like this.” Nithra nodded frantically, her grey locks flying around wildly almost as if she was headbanging.

He could still see the faint traces of tears in Nithy's eyes, and he wanted to apologize to her for... Dying? He wasn't really sure what had happened to him.

The demonic visage staring back at him in the mirror looked rather formidable, no, insanely intensely unbelievably formidable.

Nithra was pretty tall, a match for the elven mother daughter combo that were just a head and a half smaller than the beastly Brock and yet Shu was taller.

Not by much, but still taller, which meant he was probably nearly 2 meters tall if you didn't count the two obsidian black horns that protruded from his skull almost straight up like they were trying to form a U shape.

His hair was the same as before, long and black, and he looked much like a grown-up version of the child avatar. The little demon. The boy, Shu. Yet also not.There were definite traces of his old human facial shape there too.

The only word he could use to describe himself would, rather uncreatively, be handsome. He still had the eyes and the porcelain, marble-like skin, yet his body was more solid looking, filled out with the flexing muscles of a healthy person who took great care in routinely torturing himself in the gym. Noticing the rather large thing dangling between his legs, Shu cocked his head and glanced over at Nithra, who squealed again, covering her eyes.

”Uhm Nithy, Why am I naked?”

”We-well, whe-when ma-master suddenly started glowing and changing, I had to, you know, strip you?” Shu nodded understanding at his old companion, slightly puzzled at her reaction to him.

Was he really that squealworthy? He couldn't really tell. In any case, he required some clothing, especially to cover the obscene thing dangling so freely between his legs like some infants arm. He shook his head, not wanting to think about it right now. Strangely, Shu found himself slightly missing his child body.

He had just gotten comfortable in that vessel, and now it seemed that he had grown. In any case, he had to cover himself, so Shu brought out a doublet of the usual style, this one with purplish trimmings and silver embroidery, donning it along with smooth black silk pants, black socks and shoes. He once again got a purple hairpin and created for himself one of those old chinese style buns that his mother had been so fond of.

Looking at himself in the mirror, he supposed the style went rather well with his appearance. Uwah, who was this insanely formidable looking young man? So elegant! Shu laughed derisively.

”Yeah right, there's no way I look that good. Get it together old chap.” Shu said, shaking his head mournfully.

”Bu-but master... looks amazing.” Nithra said shyly. He was a bit worried about that girl acting shyly. It felt unnatural for her, and that unnerved him a little bit.

”No way Nithy. Ugh, remove that mirror. If I look at myself for much longer I'm afraid I'll crawl up my own ass, and then what?” Shu said. Nithra bowed, hurrying to obey.

It was slightly disturbing how she nearly moaned whenever he gave her an order. As though she derived sexual pleasure from receiving orders... Yeah, he'd been a dumbass for shaping her like that.

After Nithra had gone, Shu sat back down on the bed with a sigh. He looked at his hands. They were larger now, but still just as elegant and statue-like as they had been in child-form. It was really weird that this was his body.

”Fucking hell Goddess.” Shu muttered under his breath. He had just gotten used to his old new body, and now this? Goddamn it. What was he going to do about Lisa? About his plans to attend school and learn about the world? Nah, fuck the school. Common sense was useful, but Lisa... Lisa was his chief concern. What in the seven hells was he going to do about her?

Shu couldn't just walk up to her and be like, hey Lisa it's me Shu. How're things? She'd freak out for sure. Maybe even be afraid of him. He wasn't sure he could handle that.

Sighing, Shu threw himself back onto the bed, messing up his hairdo in the process.

”Fucks sake. Gods and goddesses. So troublesome. Why can't I just stay in the other form? I'll stand out alot more if I look like this...” Shu grumbled to himself.

Suddenly, there was a pinging noise in his ears as if a system prompt got pulled up or something. His heart suddenly jumped in his chest and he wondered at that sound. Was it a GM message? Nah, there was no way. This world was real. It wasn't the game he had once lived in, but a real place in the truest sense of the word.

” I repent and rescind my own selfish desires.” A sad female voice whispered in his ear. Shu jumped and looked around, but there were nobody but him here. Ping!

[Would you like to enter Character creation?] Erm.... what the hell was this? Shu wasn't sure he wanted to mess with anything. What if he suddenly became level 1. That thought was truly horrifying.

”So that you can fix your appearance. I thought it was as fitting appearance for the King of Demons, but apparently you have reservations. Since I am the one who kidnapped you, I naturally have a responsibility to please you in any way I can. I can't just leave it like this if you are unsatisfied.” The beautiful voice said. It was like tinkling crystals now, clear as any other voice in this world.

Could he perhaps have a conversation with a goddess? ”I graciously accept your generous offer Goddess, but may I know to whom I speak?” Shu said to the seemingly empty air in front of him.

”I am Era, the Goddess of Chaos.” The voice said. A moment later, two red eyes appeared in front of his face. Following those was an incorporeal, transparent woman who stood stark naked in the air before him. Even as a phantom, Shu could discern many attractive features. But more than attractive, she was simply striking. She smiled, revealing a set of black fangs.

It then dawned on him. This was a goddess? He could ask her anything, and she might know the answer. The only question in his mind though, was Lisa. How was she doing? He wanted to go to her right away, but the sudden change hampered his ability to do so

The floating phantom goddess, Era, nodded seriously. ”I see now that I made a mistake. Sorry, I was too selfish.” The goddess lowered her head.

”No, not at all. I mean, It's just that...” Shu said, but trailed off. He wasn't sure exactly how to put it. How to tell her his feelings, what he'd experienced in this world so far, the persona he had built. He didn't want to throw it all away on a whim.

”I understand.” Era said, then she smiled. ”This will use up a considerable amount of my power so I may not be able to see you again after this. Laws of the universe and all that. ” Era said, smiling, though Shu could clearly see that her eyes were a bit sad. She slowly shook her head.

”No, this was my own doing and so I must pay the price. Still, I am a selfish goddess and you're my demon king, so I shall gift you with [transformation] to repent for my selfish behaviour towards you.” Era said, then cocked her head. ”Actually, that's even better! More chaos will result from this.” The serious looking woman suddenly smiled wickedly, winked at him and said ”See you on the other side, maybe.”

Shu nodded, and then the world went white. He immediately recognized the character creation screen, but the place flickered oddly and he was looking at the child avatar he had so frivolously chosen for himself when he first experienced... reincarnation? To be honest, the goddess Era had said that she kidnapped him. Era clearly felt a little bad about it, but for Shu it was a priceless opportunity.

After all, he had been about to expire like some long forgotten vegetable left untended for too long in the fridge, so he clearly owed his current existence to this Era, the goddess of Chaos. It made sense that she governed chaos if she were the one to bring him here.

Well, unlike when he'd first been here, everything was unlocked. He could pick any race he wanted, but he wasn't going to do that. In fact, Shu didn't really want to do anything here. If he changed his own appearance too much, it felt like he was betraying something. He knew it was foolish, but he had grown attached to the little demon form.

Still, at the last moment before he was absorbed by the white space, he heard something interesting. The ability [Transform]. Her gifting him this meant that he could freely change between two predetermined forms much like Werewolves or Vampire Lords. It could bring him many benefits in the future.

Era had pretty much admitted that she'd influenced the adult form, so Shu supposed he'd pay a little tribute to her by giving himself a smaller version of the horns she had chosen for him. After all, he had her to thank for his reincarnation.

Haha... Just thinking about it was surreal. He shouldn't linger here. Better not. Otherwise he might start second guessing his gut feeling and start modifying his avatar, looking at racial bonuses and attempting to make the best combination possible for min/maxing.

Shu closed his eyes again, willing himself out of the white space. ”I, Era the Goddess of Chaos, grant thee, Shugireth Darkstar, with mine own power, the blessing of transformation.” Era whispered to him from what seemed like a far away place.

When he came to again, he felt hale. Then he noticed how the clothes were alot larger, or rather how he had once more shrunk, and laughed. Shu laughed at himself, at the world, and at the chaos of it all.

Era... the Goddess of chaos, huh... Should he make her the officially endorsed Goddess of Pandemonium? Perhaps build a shrine for her? Shaking his head, he could hardly believe what he was thinking.

He had work to do at school tomorrow, or was it today? He wasn't sure how much time had passed. In any case, Shu had not forgotten the initial prompt about the unlocking of jobs and classes, and the implications thereof, and this revisiting of the character creation screen only served to remind him of the unbelievable amount of untapped potential.

If he worked hard at it, perhaps he'd be able to attain the warriors Toughness passive, for example. Maybe he could even level up the classes seperately, for something to do on the side. He fancied himself a little demon warrior or rogue adventurer, and smiled. No, he was a mage, but naturally he would explore anything that could potentially give him an Edge on the competition.

After all... the premise of that game he had played for 13 years had been thoroughly ingrained in his soul. It was not something he could just shake off like a wet noodle on his shoulder. Mhm.

Actually at wet noodle on your shoulder might be a little hard to shake off, unless you were thoroughly oiled up like a naked German bodybuilder. Argh ja, ja.

In any case, the many potential bonuses he could obtain, ignited his gamer spirit. It meant that he could get stronger, potentially quite a bit stronger, independant of leveling.The issue was that he didn't know precisely how to go about obtaining passives such as [toughess], the warrior passive boost to HP and give flat physical damage reduction, or [nimble] to boost agility, movement speed and reflexes.

Each class in Edge had a passive, which gave a rather considerable boon. Of course if you specialized, you'd get a specialized passive aswell. Edge Online had a well thought out system... but right now that was a far cry from Shu's reality. He supposed it was rather fitting though. A chaotic world, with a chaotic goddess, for his guild.

He had finally decided what to do with his guild in this world and slowly, slowly, the cogwheels started turning in his head. Already, he was thinking about who to recruit, who to include in the council of 13 and the methods of training. Well on that front he had no clue. He would have to consult the local adventurers to find out what dungeons were good. One thing was sure though. His guilds most prominent saying rang more true now, than it ever had before.

Pandemonium eternal!