1 Prologue

He woke up, sweating and breathing heavily. He would've assumed everything had just been a nightmare, a terrible one, but one nonetheless. Unfortunately, the headache caused by him trying to assimilate two different sets of memories spoke otherwise.

Yami Atem. That was his current name, and wasn't that ironic? He would've laughed it out a bit after seeing the two cards he was clutching in his hands, but his head hurt and throbbed too much for that.

Still, what he was holding may as well be the most important thing for his future. Snatch Steal. From what Yami remembered, the card was used to take control of an opponent's monster, but the little text above it didn't agree with that.

[Snatch Steal: Steal the Sacred Gear of the target it's in contact with.]

Yami had no idea why there was a bunch of text above the cards, but it was right there despite not making much sense.

If the memories of his current body didn't confirm it, then the text did. He was in the ecchi anime with super-powered beings that could destroy cities with a flick of their finger. Worst of all, he was a baseline human with absolutely no power.

Fuck!!!!

Well, technically, he did have those two cards that could change that. Though, there were a few limitations to them. He needed to get very close to his target, and Yami didn't believe many Sacred Gear users would allow that. Unless, of course, they weren't aware they had one in the first place.

The memories of his body told Yami he was supposed to be a newly transferred third-year student at Kuoh Academy. That could be very bad. From what he remembered, the main protagonist of the anime was a second-year student at the start. That meant that one year had already passed, and Issei was already a devil, or Yami was just one year older. He really hoped it was the latter.

Finding out if the anime had started or not was crucial for his future, and hopefully, it hadn't. Otherwise, Snatch Steal would be too hard for him to use.

Yami got up from his bed and shook his head. Either way, he had to start preparing as he didn't want to be killed by a supernatural being because it felt like it. If he was to die, he would do so on his own terms, fighting till his last breath. Again, that brought the problem of him being a baseline human, but maybe there was something he could do about it.

After taking a quick look around his one-room apartment, he entered his small bathroom. The little mirror on the wall showed him his current appearance.

Slightly darker skin from his Egyptian origin greeted him. He had spiky black hair with blonde streaks and a magenta outline. Anime logic at it's best, but he didn't mind it since it looked good. He looked very much like Pharaoh Antem with violet eyes, a pointy nose, and a sharp jawline. Again, quite fitting considering the two cards he was still clutching and the possibility of getting more in the future.

As Yami was looking at himself in the mirror, he felt a twinge in his left eye. He tried closing it and raised his hand to scratch it, but it suddenly shined bright. Next thing he knew, a golden one had replaced his original one.

"The Millennium Eye?!" Yami exclaimed in surprise. This could be a gamechanger, but he wasn't sure if it held the powers of the original one. The text that he was above the cards may as well be due to the Millennium Eye, but he wasn't entirely positive of that. He would have to experiment more with the magical artifact.

This also begged the question. If Yami had the Millennium Eye, where the other Millennium Items in this world as well? If so, he wanted them. No, he needed them! Absolute greed overcame him just thinking about the Millennium Items, and he wasn't even sure why. All he knew was that he needed to have them.

After quickly cleaning himself, he left the bathroom. There was very little for him to do in his small apartment, so he didn't bother staying there.

Yami had to find out if Issei was already a devil or not, and he also had to start training himself. He didn't know much about working out, both sets of memories didn't provide him with much information, but he had a training regime planned for himself. Yami just hoped he wouldn't get bold from it. He really liked his current hair.

Doing 100 pushups, 100 situps, 100 squats, and running 10 km was in no way easy, especially for someone who was practically a twig. For the first three, he had to take a break after to break to finish, but he did manage to do them in the end. The run? Oh, boy, Yami was huffing and puffing non-stop. He had to take so many breaks along the way, and he wasn't even sure how much he'd run.

Yami was on his nth break, sitting on a bench in the park. His hands were propping his head, which hurt like a motherfucker, as he breathed heavily. How the fuck did his head hurt from running? That didn't make any sense!

Thinking about maybe calling it quits for the day, Yami looked up. In front of him, a few kids were playing with a ball on the grass. That was a pretty usual scene in a park, except for the blueish portal in the middle. The ball passed through it multiple times, and the kids didn't seem to know it's there.

Yami would've assumed the portal was a hallucination from his headache if it weren't for the text above it.

[Elf Camp: Defeat to earn Elf cards.]

Happiness engulfed Yami, and he was about to rush into it, but he stopped himself. The chance of earning cards and becoming stronger spurred his greed. However, he was still nothing but a weakling.

It said 'defeat,' which meant he had to fight, and that was something he wasn't currently capable of doing. At least he knew of a way to get more cards; he just had to get stronger before attempting to defeat the Elf Camp.

Yami will be on the lookout for more of those portals around the city. For now, however, he had a 10km run to complete. Damn, if that wasn't hard to do.

When he returned back to his apartment, his whole body trembled from what Yami put it through. He didn't know how he was supposed to even do it every single day, but he had little choice in that matter. He had little over a month until school started, so hopefully, his training will bear some fruit by that point.

The next day, Yami woke with his muscles screaming in pain. He considered just staying in bed and doing nothing, but he steeled himself. That just wasn't an option if he wanted to survive and have control over his life.

Shakily, Yami managed to get up and prepare himself something to eat. Not like he had much in his little fridge, but it was enough for breakfast. He would, however, have to buy some groceries today. Thankfully, he had some money left after his parents had passed away.

Yami lived alone as an orphan, and honestly, he was happy about it as cruel as it sounded. He didn't have anyone who could be used against him, if he even got the point that it mattered.

After filling his stomach, Yami left the apartment, prepared to continue his training. He kept repeating to himself that it was for his own good, for his own survival, but damn if it wasn't hard, even harder than the day before.

Yami wasn't even sure if he managed to complete his run, but he just wanted to return home and eat something. The little problem was that he had nothing in his tiny fridge as he emptied in the morning.

Life was just a fucking asshole, or maybe he was just bad at planning... it was definitely the first.

With shaky limbs, Yami stumbled his way into a nearby grocery store. He was picking a few cheaper foods, barely even holding the basket in his hands, which felt like it weighed a ton when he stumbled into someone.

"Sorry," Yami apologized quickly, "I wasn't looking where I was going, and I've been a bit out of it."

"Haha, it's okay," a blonde with spiky hair replied, "I wasn't paying attention as well."

The boy he bumped into was tallish with grey eyes and somewhat good-looking. Again, anime logic at it's best. Blonde hair and grey eyes in someone from Japan wasn't something natural. However, it worked in his favour as the boy might be someone important in the plot, and he had a very faint idea who he might be.

"Are you a student at Kuoh Academy?" Yami asked, taking a bullet and hoping for the best.

Yami also tried to subtly use his Millennium Eye without making it visible. Pegasus had been able to read the mind of others by just looking at them. His attempt, however, was fruitless, and Yami had to stop focusing on his eye as he felt the magical artifact was about to emerge.

"I will be joining the school this year, but I don't really know anyone from it," Yami quickly explained.

"Yes!" The boy confirmed with a nod and... a lustful expression?

"I'm a second-year student, Genshirou Saji! Finished last year as a top student, and I'm planning on joining the Student Council this year!" He declared proudly.

Yami hadn't really spent a lot of time watching the anime, and when he did, he hadn't paid attention to the males or the plot. However, he had faint memories of someone that was called Saji, and if he wasn't wrong, the boy had a Sacred Gear.

"It's nice to meet a fellow student. I'm Yami Anten," he introduced himself, trying his best to hide the greed in his eyes, "Would you mind telling me a bit about Kuoh Academy?"

"It's amazing! The teachers are great at their jobs, and the girls are something else. I'm sure you will love it as long as you can keep up with the school's high standards."

Of course, Saji would think that; any hormonal teenager would have the same opinion. Yami was sure that he would also get distracted when in school, but right now, he only had one thought in his mind, Sacred Gear.

If he wasn't wrong - and he really hoped he wasn't - Saji still hadn't been turned into a Devil. This could be his chance to obtain a powerful object without risking his life or facing any consequences.

While Saji kept telling him about the school, mostly how great the Student Council was, Yami pulled out a Snatch Steal with his left hand from his pocket. He always made sure to leave his apartment with the two cards in his hands. He didn't want to miss out in case of a situation like this one occurring.

Yami stumbled again and used his left hand to prop himself against Saji. He really hoped the Snatch Steal wouldn't make a big light show because this would end up being a very embarrassing moment for him. Thankfully, the card just faded away, and he no longer felt it in his hand.

Then it happened. Yami felt something transfer from Saji over to his left arm, and he had to stop himself from laughing out maniacally. This was it! His first step on obtaining power and becoming something more than a simple human. He still had to play his part, though.

"Sorry, I've been working out the past few days, and it... hasn't really been working out for me," Yami joked, looking at his trembling limbs.

"I know that feeling; I've tried working out a few times myself," Saji said with pity in his eyes.

Yami was having a hard time not laughing at him. Saji was looking at him with pity when he should be the one doing that. Yami had literally stolen the boy's future, and Saji hadn't even realized that.

"Would you like some help?" Saji asked, and Yami quickly agreed. He was going to milk the boy as long as he offered.

They chatted as Yami got everything he needed, and Saji even offered to help him carry his bag to his apartment. The boy was good-natured, and he almost felt bad about stealing his future. Well, not really. He actually didn't care at all.

The moment Yami entered his apartment, he quickly stored the food in his fridge and looked at his left arm. He felt the power inside it, bubbling to be released. With but a mental command, he did just that.

Purple light covered his forearm, forming into a small black lizard with large purple eyes. He didn't know the name or the exact capabilities of his Sacred Gear, but he didn't care about that right now. The most important thing was that he had one! Everything else he could figure out on his own.

Despite getting a Sacred Gear, Yami had only one thought going through his mind. He needed to find Issei quickly and get his hands on another one. Yami even had an easy way of doing that. Saji, the one whose future he stole, will help him by introducing him to a few of the boys attending Kuoh Academy. Things were shaping out quite nicely for him.

That, however, was for later. Now Yami had to find out what his Sacred Gear actually did. He raised his hand on instinct and pointed it forward. Feeling the same twinge he felt when the Millennium Eye emerged, he focused on that.

A bluish line emerged from the lizard on Yami's hand and flew out straight at the small table in his apartment. It circled around the leg of the furniture like a snake wrapping around its prey.

"Is this it?" Yami asked. He thought of a few ways it could be useful, for example, capturing an enemy or maybe even swinging around buildings like a certain spandex-wearing superhero.

Still, Sacred Gears were supposed to be powerful artifacts that allowed humans to match up against supernatural beings, some even giving their users the ability to kill gods.

With the line still holding onto the table's leg, Yami focused on it, trying to see if he could do anything else with it. He had some control over it and made it move over to another leg. Still not content with that and wanting something more, he tried everything else that came to his mind.

Suddenly, the line lit up a bit, and Yami watched as the legs it was wrapped around shriveled up. An almost impossible to notice energy traveled through and ended up being absorbed by him. Yami wouldn't have even noticed if his entire body wasn't aching in pain, but he felt slightly rejuvenated from it.

That was something else. Yami's new Sacred Gear could absorb energy from objects. Now he only needed to experiment and see what else he could do with it. How many lines could it create? Could he sever those lines? Could he use them to absorb energy from a living being? Since it can restore his stamina and somewhat heal him up, could it be used to strengthen it as well?

So many new possibilities, but Yami felt like crying. The only other furniture beside his bed was now pretty much destroyed. With a tinge of annoyance, he forced the line to wrap around the entire table and drained it dry before it turned into ash. At least it restored a bit of his stamina and healed his aching body.