The doppelganger stared down at the lifeless body of a human (Kazu), it's corpse lay sprawled across the snow-covered ground. The head, once attached to the torso, now rested several feet away. The eyes stared blankly up at nothingness, their pupils dilated in shock. Its severed neck stump oozing a trail of dark crimson blood onto the frozen earth.

The skull itself was crushed beyond recognition, with fragments of bone scattered about like shattered pottery. Brain matter had been splattered across the surrounding snowdrifts, forming an eerie pattern of grayish-white globs that seemed to pulse. To one side of the body lay what remained of its legs and right arm – detached limbs that ended abruptly at their joints, as if they'd been hacked off by some deranged butcher's knife. The stumps were slick with blood and frostbite-rimmed flesh.

The torso itself was torn open, exposing internal organs to the biting cold. Intestines spilled out like twisted ribbons of flesh-colored silk, tangled around shattered bones and pulpy tissue. The ribcage of the human was cracked and splintered like a broken eggshell.

A sense of failure and disappointment coursing through the doppelganger's being. It reflected on its mission, a mission it had been created for, but had ultimately failed. It had been instructed to spy on the humans, to keep an eye on them but had been discovered. In its failure to accomplish its task, it had resorted to violence, eliminating the humans in a desperate attempt to make up for its shortcomings but even then one of the human's had escaped. A utter failure.

He was a servant of his only creator and lord.

Lord Lucifer The Light-bringer, The Fallen angel of Light, the strongest being in this world, he had failed him.

He was angry, frustrated, he wanted to hurt, he felt the urge to destroy, to make all of these humans suffer for daring to stand in its way. He wanted to unleash all of his anger and kill as much as he could but that was not what Lord Lucifer wanted.

Lord Lucifer had wanted to introduce himself to the world as a benevolent man who would save innocents, just a few kilometres from where he was, a blood knight was stationed, waiting for the truck to arrive but when it will see there is only one human in that truck, lord Lucifer would come to know and he won't be pleased, not at all.

His plans had been fowled.

A wave of fear washed through his entire being. Lucifer was not someone to anger. His wrath would bring about unimaginable suffering and pain. He could not imagine what his punishment would be for such a massive failure but even punishment was a pleasure.

The doppelganger wanted to die.

To die by it's creator's hands, what better fate could there be in the world.

Such a death would be the greatest thing he could and will receive in this world.

He was feeling so joyous at the thought.

He couldn't stop smiling.

There was a mental link between the doppelganger and its master and it worked as a sort of homing beacon. The creature had an innate sense of where its creator was located, and it could sense its master's presence from a great distance.

It was as if there was an invisible cord connecting the two and vice versa so Lucifer could also sense the doppelganger's location.

The doppelganger began to sprint back towards its creator's location.

————————————————————

As he walked along the night-veiled city, Lucifer raised his head. What should've greeted him was the beautiful sight of stars in the sky but instead, it was a dark smoggy snowy sky.

Lucifer sighed at the scenery for the second time, and then he headed back to his house.

He had gone a little overboard.

As long as people knew of him and either were or weren't by his side, he could not afford to appear weak to them. As a sorcerer and someone belonging to a position of power (atleast so he would tell other's), he needed to act in a fitting manner of that.

While he might have gone a bit too far, it still fit the role he was playing.

He did not know if he had passed or failed, but it would be fine as long as

No-one was disappointed.

He sighed again, currently he was standing on a highway, he was invisible of course right now using [true Invisibility] and near him was a blood knight he had created using the dead body of the mercenary he had killed, the blood knight too was hidden.

He had given up hope, why?

Because the truck he was waiting for had already came and passed and in the truck was only one person — Sachiko.

Atleast, that's what he thought was her name, what happened to everyone else?

He didn't know.

Lucifer thought it over, this was bad, no matter how you looked at it, no, this was very bad.

He had no means of knowing what exactly had happened, no one had made contact and he didn't know if the others were even alive. There were several options here, one was to return and check the truck for any clues. The other was to wait, and wait for the Doppelganger to return.

It could simply be that they were attacked by bandits but whatever the reason, his plans had been foiled. He had did all of this planning and went out of his way to wait here so the blood knight could attack them and he would save them by killing it, appearing as a hero.

It was ruined.

Lucifer was furious, he wanted to destroy something. He knew he was being childish, in a way, this wasn't the best response to disappointment but at the same time, he was allowed to be childish. He felt the urge to destroy, something, anything. His fingers twitched as he resisted the urge to snap.

That wouldn't do, he would only cause further problems. Instead, he took a deep breath. He just needed more patience, the Doppelganger would surely make contact soon.

One of the reasons he was annoyed was that as he was used to plans going wrong, it happened a lot more than one would expect, it was simply his bad luck.

If he made 1000 plans, atleast thirty to fifty would be foiled.

A 95% win ratio but the last 5% really mattered a lot.

His anger had slightly subdued now, he started to focus on more logical and rational things, this wasn't the time to wallow in what's already happened. He wasn't a kid even if his mind-set could be akin to one.

"[True teleportation]."

He disappeared from one location to another.

With a wave of his hand, Lucifer teleported to his house. Lucifer's room was filled with dirty, grime and old furniture, while the floor was laid with a dirty black carpet. This vast room was usually draped in a thin veil of silence, and today it was even more quiet than normal. Not for only however. The only people here were Lucifer and his sword bearing blood Knight in the corner who was invisible.

"So much has happened today."

And it was not an exaggeration.

Lucifer slumped onto his bed, the grimy fabric crackling under his weight. He rubbed his face, feeling a mixture of frustration and exhaustion wash over him.

"So...what now, eh?" He spoke aloud to no one in particular, his voice bouncing off the empty walls.

The blood knight behind him didn't reply, of course, it couldn't. The blood knight was not able to speak, it could of course but only if Lucifer allowed him to.

His thoughts shifted to the question and answers he had with Hiroshi.

He had learned so much and as promised after he was done interrogating him he had teleported Hiroshi near neo-Tokyo so he could go back.

Though the interrogation had provided him with answers to some of his questions, he still harboured doubts and uncertainties. There were still many unanswered questions that lingered in his mind.

Firstly, if not confirmed before, he had confirmed it now that he was on earth, his earth, in Japan, in the year 2109. There was no mistaking that.

It was fact. Simple as that.

The next question was how. How was he transported to a different world at all? That was a question that had no answer and no theory he could give. His knowledge was limited, he did not hold all the answers and he did not have all the tools for it.

Firstly, he did obtain some very juicy information though.

First were the neighbouring countries.

"They are called the Greater East Asia Prosperity Sphere." He spoke out loud, to himself and no one else.

He then thought of the name further, Greater East Asia Prosperity Sphere.

It was an economic alliance made up of japan, the United democratic republic of Korea. Yes, not south or north Korea but Korea. Apparently, during world war III, north Korea had been annexed by south Korea and turned into a united Korea. Apart from these two, there was also Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mongolia but not china.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

From what Hiroshi had told him, china was on the brink of a civil war and if things don't go well in the next few years, it could very well split into two countries.

But Lucifer was more concerned about what the countries did, not what they were called or what was going on.

Firstly, he was told that all these countries were under the rule of mega-corps. More specifically, two megacorp's — the Kusonoki conglomerate and..he couldn't remember the name at the moment.

Kusonoki conglomerate had a hold over japan and Taiwan while the other mega-corp had the hold over the rest of the countries in the economic sphere.

Lucifer leaned back in his bed. Mega-corporations were nothing new, of course. He had already guessed that a megacorp would have an influence there. And he was right, but his curiosity now piqued as to how far this influence extended.

The information he had so far were not enough. He wanted, no, he *needed* more information. He felt frustrated for the umpteenth time that day.

World war III, megacorp's, a smog covered sky, cybernetic implants.

He was truly in the future.

A dark future.

Another thing which he had learned was that no one knew of magic, like they did from games and fiction but no one ever had shown real magic.

He was the first so that eliminated the possibility of any player coming to earth before him but it didn't mean that they couldn't have been transported alongside him or would be in the future.

"Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated."

Lucifer muttered a quote.

"Who said it..grandhi..no...oh yes — Sun Tzu."

He needed to be prepared for anything and everything.

Lucifer rolled over, staring at the ceiling, the silence in the room was deafening and it was beginning to annoy him.

He thought of his Doppelgänger. Where could it be? He expected it to be back by now.

Instead of just doing nothing, he decided to do something atleast.

Something important.

Lucifer rose from the bed, a small cloud of dust rising alongside him and then settling down as quickly as it was raised up.

Lucifer could still sense the mental link between himself and the doppelganger, which was a relief as it indicated that everything was alright with it. It seemed to be operating just fine and he was certain that it could handle any situation that might arise. After all, He was certain that none of them were beyond level five.

He had concluded that the mercenaries' levels were likely to be lower than five. While it was difficult to ascertain their exact level without the concept of "levels" existing in this world, he had approximated it to be in the range of level 1-2.

Lucifer reasoned that if Hiroshi's level was 1 which he had made an educated guess of, then the other people's and those mercenaries' levels were likely to be similar, as the concept of training and physical activity did not significantly influence their abilities.

Having a doppelganger around level 15 would make it effortlessly stronger than anything below level 10 due to the immense gap in power.

Lucifer considered other factors that might have impacted their levels. He speculated that soldiers, due to their intensive training and experience in combat, could potentially have higher levels than the average individual. Similarly, athletes, who were well-versed in physical activity and possessed strong physiques, may have also had slightly elevated levels.

However, one could never be too sure, and there was always the possibility of encountering an unexpectedly strong opponent. He knew from experience never to underestimate an opponent and remain complacent but it was highly unlikely.

Lucifer stopped his train of thought and looked around his room before he emerged from his room and surveyed the hallway, his eyes taking in the current state of the space. It had been decades since anyone had inhabited the house, and time had taken its toll on the surroundings.

Dust and cobwebs covered every surface, indicating that nobody had dared to disturb the stillness of the abandoned home. The house had a lingering musty scent. To his left, he saw a door leading to a second bathroom, directly across was a guest room, and at the very end was a large storage room. A small empty room was located to his right.

Lucifer, after giving a brief glance to the rooms on the second floor, decided to descend to the ground floor. He made his way towards the staircase located at the end of the hallway and then treaded carefully down the stairs as they creaked beneath his weight. He couldn't help but notice the distinct creaking sound that emanated from the old wooden steps.

He reached the ground and look around, everything was like how it had been.

Lucifer turned left and walked into the living room, which had accumulated a significant amount of dust and debris. The once well-decorated space now looked drab and neglected.

Despite the clutter, the furniture was surprisingly intact, albeit covered in dust and cobwebs except for a broken mirror hanging on the wall. Lucifer moved around the area, his gaze flickering over the various items scattered around the living room.

Lucifer was caught off guard when he felt something under his foot. Looking down, he discovered a torn apart picture of his family. In the middle was himself, surrounded by his mother and father.

Lucifer stared down at the photo for a moment before bending down and picking it up. He held the photo delicately in his hand, examining it further. The picture was old and slightly crumpled, with the edges beginning to discolour. Despite the damage, one could easily identify the people in the photograph.

He stared at the photo for a while, lost in thought. Lucifer wished he could go back to that moment, to see his family alive and well once more. Lucifer knelt down, carefully picking up and salvaging as much as he could. He looked at the faces of his loved ones once again. Despite the passage of time, the image brought back memories and emotions that he thought he had left behind.

He was transported back to those happy moments he had shared with his family, and for a brief moment, it felt like they were right there with him.

But it was just a picture in his hand...not their flesh and blood. It was their memories, their faces forever frozen in time.

Lucifer opened his inventory, reaching into it be pulled out a seemingly mundane small leather pouch that appeared innocuous, yet held immense value — the [Pouch of Hoarding] was an impressive very rare class item.

This pouch allowed him to store items under 100kg, and up to 500kg worth of items overall. Hayate swiftly picked up the photo frame from the ground and carefully placed the pieces inside it before storing both in his pouch.

Once done, he put the pouch back in his inventory, knowing that the precious photo would be safely stored. After putting away the picture, Lucifer took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for the next room. "Living Room done..now for my parent's room.." he muttered to himself.

Lucifer walked over to the rightmost side of the living room and stood in front of his parents room's door. He reached for the door handle, but the door wouldn't budge – it must have been locked.

Frustrated, he shook the handle a few times, but it didn't budge. With a sigh, he muttered to himself:

"Locked..it would be too easy otherwise, wouldn't it?"

He stepped back and examined the door. Maybe he could pick the lock? Or he could just kick the door down. But as he pondered his options, he decided against damaging the door. This house is his childhood home, memories and emotions tied to it, he couldn't just damage it.

Lucifer let out a deep sigh, his hand still resting on the door handle. He took a step back and surveyed his options. He could either pick the lock or try to find the key, but he had no idea where to start with that. As he continued mulling this over, he suddenly had an idea.

"Arthur's key."

Lucifer remembered he had an item in his possession called [Arthur's key], another "very-rare" artifact type item that functioned like a special key.

It was a item that appeared deceptively ordinary, looking like a brass key but held surprisingly powerful magical properties. What made it special was its limited daily usage. Five times a day, he could cast either [Arcane Lock], a 4th tier spell used by thief classes to protect things, or [Arcane Unlock], its twin like spell to release something that was locked by Arcane Lock. If the daily usage limit was exceeded, the key would be destroyed. This would only work on a non-enchanted/non-magical lock.

He had a legendary item as well which could do the same but it has limited uses so he didn't want expend them.

Lucifer had received "Arthur's key" from a friend, Mitsui mochizuki, who went by the in-game name xiaosha. As far as he could remember she was half Chinese and half Japanese in real life. He vaguely remembered her mentioning that she grew up in Shanghai, China, but moved to Tokyo when she was just 8 years old. He also knew that she played as a thief class in Hollow, but the exact name of the class eluded him.

Lucifer reminiscent about a session he had shared with Mitsui, as it was a late night and they had been playing together as a duo.

At the time, he was level 80 and focused on grinding to reach level 100. Meanwhile, Mitsui, who was also playing with him, mentioned that she had upcoming exams and wouldn't be able to play much for a while.

As a "thief" class, she was crucial for the party, as she could unlock doors and other locked areas effectively. Before logging out, Mitsui gave Lucifer her "Arthur's key", an item that allowed her to unlock doors but she didn't need it as her skills could do it for her. Although Lucifer didn't require it then, a matter had come up which made him lose interest in playing at that time. And in the process, he had stored the key in his inventory, forgetting about it.

Lucifer took out the key from his inventory. As he clutched the key, he noticed his hands trembling ever so slightly.

Lucifer inserted the key into the lock, casting:

"[arcane unlock]."

The lock clicked, opening the door to his parent's bedroom. He pushed the door open and entered his parent's bedroom, shrouded in darkness.

He couldn't see a thing, or atleast what's that would've happened had he been human.

Activating his passive skill — [Dark Vision], he could see everything clearly as if it was a sunny day.

He took a moment to survey the room, taking in the sight of his parents' room after so many years had passed while for him, he has just seen it yesterday.

The room was still furnished with the same furniture he remembered. The bed was neatly made, with the blankets and pillows arranged tidily on top. The wardrobe in the corner still held the same clothes that his parents used to wear. The room felt almost frozen in time, as if his parents had merely stepped out for a brief moment and would be back any second.

Lucifer spotted a few items he had made for them when he was younger, now collecting dust in the corner.

Dust covered everything.

Although the room was tidied, but there were a few items out of place. Lucifer's gaze fell upon a single framed picture of himself as a child. This image made him stop in his tracks. His eyes locked with those of his younger self.

He wasn't even human anymore.

He was no longer human, not biologically.

Hayate felt like a stranger in his own home.

Lucifer snapped out of his melancholic thoughts as he slapped himself, bringing himself back to reality.

"There has to be something here.."

There was no time to wallow in self-pity. Though he knew his emotions would catch up him later. He started a meticulous search, examining every corner of the room. There had to be something left.

He started with the bedside table next to the bed. It was just as he remembered it, a simple wooden table with a drawer. He opened the drawer and found a few items: a small notebook, a pen, and a hairbrush. He picked up the notebook, flipping through the pages to see if there was anything interesting. Nothing stood out to him, so he put it back.

Next, Lucifer turned his attention to the closet. It was a large, built-in wardrobe with two sliding doors. Lucifer opened the closet, and to his surprise, the clothes were still hanging there. They had aged and were covered in dust, but they were still present. He saw a few dresses and suits. There wasn't much to be found here. Lucifer's parents had apparently not been very materialistic.

Lucifer rummaged through the pile of clothes on the lower shelf. Among them, he found an old diary. It was his old diary from high-school. He picked up the old diary and held it in his hands. The cover was worn and had a few minor tears. He opened it and flipped through the pages and then closed it and put it on his parents bed. He would read it in just a moment.

After leaving the diary on the bed, Lucifer continued his search. He turned his attention to the dresser near the closet. He rummaged through it, but it was mostly empty except for a few items of jewellery, some old family photos. Lucifer decided to take the old photos for safekeeping.

Lucifer then searched through the rest of the room, going through the drawers, and under the bed. He found some interesting stuff. Like a small box with old, broken jewellery that had once belonged to his mom and dad, and several picture books. But nothing of real interest.

The last place he decided to check was under the mattress of the bed.

Lucifer picked up the mattress of the double bed and found several objects hidden beneath it. Well more like several of one thing. Documents.

Lucifer sifted through the multitude of folders beneath the bed. The paperwork was old, the edges frayed and some pages were yellowed with age. The documents ranged from old financial records to medical reports and his birth certificate, he picked it up.

As he held old faded document, he read his birth certificate. His full name — Hayate Sato, date of birth — 1/1/2004, hospital of birth, the names of his parents, and other details he already knew. He put it back. The rest of the documents were useless. They were all just records of bills and other transactions, none of them seemed to hold any importance.

After searching the rest of the documents he found something that caught his eye a "death certificate."

Lucifer picked up the death certificate that had been hidden under the mattress. The document's date read 4/12/2028. It was his mother's date of death and the cause of death was hanging herself by a rope. Suicide. The certificate was marked as official and approved by The Mayor Of Tokyo and The National Government of Japan. The certificate had a stamp and an official seal from the government.

Lucifer threw the paper away from his hands.

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