1 Maou

"My son, one day you'll be something amazing." 

Those were the last words his mother ever spoke to him. She held his hand as she spoke softly in his ear. Tears were streaming down his face as her grip loosened and her body became limp. He knew that she was dead, but he still had hope that she would get up. He longed for his mothers embrace, it was all he ever wanted. 

*Hik*

"Mom~~~~~!" 

*Hik*

He couldn't hold back the seemingly endless line of tears. His mother, his hero, had just died holding his hand. Waves of emotion he didn't even know he could feel suddenly welled up inside of him and burst from his eyes in a tsunami of tears. 

*Shh-shh-shh*

His father held him tightly as he cried along with his son. Wails of anguish and sorrow filled the room as doctors stood in silence watching the two cry. 

"Let's leave them alone for now." Said one doctor while beckoning to the others to leave the room. 

*Click*

The doctors shut the door behind them, they quietly sat and listened to the sounds of sadness echoing from the room. The crying continued well into the night. 

*****

Arthur Freyer sat atop a mountain of bloody corpses as he looked up into the night sky. The vast sea of stars always fascinated him. "One day I'll become a star!" Arthur would always say that to his dad. He was told that when people died they became a star, Arthur would always look for the brightest star, the one he had named his mother's star. 

'One day mom, one day we will meet again.' 

It was the phrases and thoughts such as this that would push him to be the strongest. One year ago he pushed past the human limit and became a 6th circle mage. People of the world were thrilled to learn that someone finally broke the barrier, while others were full of envy and hatred for Arthur because of the strength he accumulated.

Many people attempted to kill him only to have their life cut short by a ferocious magic attack, or worse, his custom made spell, {Hand of Gluttony}. This spell would allow him to suck away someone's life force or magic power, whatever he would suck away would be added to himself.  His brutality when it came to his enemies earned him the title, "Maou," the 'Demon King'. 

"I see you took out the whole Darkness Clan. But alas, even the great 'Maou' can't survive a battle against 80 people." 

Arthur turned his head to face his old friend, a wicked smile crept across his friend's face as he watched Arthur's face turn to pure anguish. Aaron stood straight as a plank; he was wearing a dark robe that was covered by tempered armor. 

"Why…why you? I thought we were friends...I thought you were my brother!" 

*Drip...Drop*

The sound of blood splashing against the ground mimicked that of a clock, counting down until an inevitable death. The blood was trickling out of a wound in Arthur's chest and riding the curves of the corpses to the ground. 

"I knew that someone would eventually kill you, but to think that I had to get my hands dirty! It is truly remarkable! I knew you were strong but to think you could face down the entire Darkness Clan!" 

*Cough*

*Splatter*

A spray of blood launches violently from Arthur's mouth. 

"If only you didn't hog the power of {Hand of Gluttony}. You would never have been killed." Said Aaron as a wicked smile formed on his face. 

"Hahahaha! Why would I give this power to anyone else?! I created this power...I will die before I give it away..." Scoffs Arthur as he coughs up more blood. 

Aaron's anger is showing visibly on his face. His eyebrows lower as he grits his teeth. 

"See you in hell! HAHAHAHA!" Arthur laughs hysterically as his body starts to disintegrate. 

"After living for 460 years, you finally die... " Aaron smiles as he sees the last bit of particles disperse into the air. "What a fitting end for a Demon King."

*****

Arthur was floating through a seemingly endless void of nothingness. No light was shining, only an endless sea of darkness. Arthur opened his eyes and stared into the abyss. Arthur couldn't feel his body. 

'Is this what it feels like to die?'

Arthur lets himself drift around in the abyss of darkness as he closes his eyes and ponders to himself. 

'Do I just drift around forever then? What's next?' 

*Fshoo*

Arthur feels a cold gust of wind coming from below him. His pitch black robes blow in the wind as he starts to fall. 

"What the he~~~~~!"

Arthur opens his eyes to see a pavemented road getting closer to him. Fear wells up inside of Arthur as he desperately flails his arms and legs, hoping to slow down the fall.  

"{Fly}!... Why can't I stop falling?!"

*Smash*

*Riiiiing*

Arthur opens his eyes as an intense ringing sound resounds throughout his head. The sun shines brightly into his eyes as he rubs his forehead and sits up in discomfort. Arthur looks around at his surroundings and quickly realizes he is sitting in the middle of a large crater. 

"Ack! Shit, bright!... Damn, did I fall? Where the hell am I?" 

The terrain around him is unfamiliar to anything he has ever seen before. Paved roads, telephone poles, and farms that span for miles, all completely new to him. 

'This place is weird!' He thinks to himself as he stands up. His knees buckle under him as he staggers to his feet. 

"Ack! Damn! My body hurts everywhere!... {High Heal}...WHAT~~! Nothing happened!" 

Arthur closes his eyes and looks inward in search of his circles. He can't find them. Only remnants of ungathered mana remained in the place where his six rings used to reside. 

"What the hell! Where are my rings?! Why aren't they here?! Where did they go?!" 

Arthur rubs his fingers through his long black hair out of frustration. He looks inward again, maybe he missed something? He watches as the last remnants of mana vanish like dust in the wind. 

"Dammit! I spent 200 years reaching the 6th circle! I don't want to start all over again!" 

Arthur calms his nerves as a car whizzes by him. 

*Vrooom*

"What the hell! What was that creature! W-was it an iron chariot? No…, it was too fast to be that, so then, just what was it?" Arthur exclaims while his eyes quiver with excitement. "New land and new creatures! I wonder what else this strange place holds!" 

Arthur starts to walk off but stops in his tracks.

"I should probably try to form my first circle!" Exclaims Arthur as he spots a boulder in the woods behind him. "That should work." 

Arthur props himself on top of the boulder and crosses his legs. He forms a circle with his hands as waves of mana form around him.

'This world has so much untouched mana! Are there no mages here?!.. The purity of the mana is astounding, it's as if the mana hasn't been used in thousands of years!' 

Arthur begins to breathe mana imbued breath. Leaves and brush get blown in all directions as powerful gusts of wind are being expelled from the mouth and nose of Arthur. 

Arthur looks inward as he sees the first circle begin to form. White mana particles condense into a bright ring around his heart as the heart beat intensifies. 

'Almost there!' 

The ring finishes condensing and a brilliant flash of white light engulfs Arthur's body.