Prologue.

"Another draw, Miss Sitori?" The young chestnut-haired guy adjusted his rectangular glasses and set aside the black pawn he had been absentmindedly twirling in his hands.

He was an ordinary guy in the academy's uniform. That was the only way to describe him.

Externally, he didn't stand out. If anything... that's what was strange.

His uniform was perfectly pressed, neat chestnut hair of medium length falling onto the rectangular black-framed glasses, a slightly pale face, and kind dark pools for eyes that drew you in with some kind of... care and goodness. He was practically a gray mouse. He could easily fade into a crowd.

The girl sitting in front of him, considered one of the idols of the academy, had more than once caught herself having strange thoughts and actions. She felt an odd attraction to this student. The slender dark-haired girl with oval glasses and dark frames had noticed this strange student almost immediately. For some unknown reason, he intrigued her, not as a human... but as a demoness.

But what or why? He appeared to be an ordinary mortal, fairly intelligent, but there was something off about him. Her intuition screamed about it!

He had enrolled in the former girls' academy, which had recently become co-ed. On the first exam, he had scored the highest in tests, on par with the academy's smartest girl and the head of the student council, Sona Sitori, who was now sitting in front of him and blinking foolishly.

He had an impeccable reputation both among the few boys and the girls. If he had wanted to, he could have easily become the school idol, like the Gremory's Horse, but he simply wasn't interested.

Although, what is there to say when he has a secret fan club of three dozen admirers?

I wonder if he knows about it? What do those alluring eyes think about? Why can't one of the smartest demonesses of her time beat him in chess, when she's the best at the game? What is her intuition trying to tell her?

Hundreds of questions rapidly flashed through Sona's mind as her rationality drew lines and highlighted oddities that were immediately countered by the facts from the guy's background, meticulously gathered by her investigators.

A perfect family. His father was a musician, his mother a very famous artist. They had moved to this city six months ago, settling in the mansion they had purchased not far from an abandoned church.

They had changed their place of residence because they learned about one of the best academies in Japan, which had recently started accepting male students. In the personal file, it was mentioned that under hypnosis, the parents simply wanted their child to receive the best education.

Nothing strange about it... as if it were a mockery!

Eighteen-year-old Neo Mori had never had problems with the law. There was even information that he had once saved a girl from a truck, breaking his arm in the process due to a bad landing. This was reported three years ago in the city newspaper from his previous place of residence, the city of Oita.

There were no issues in school either. Everything was calm, no conflicts with teachers or students... it was impossible.

How could this even be? Sona had a feeling that an invisible zone of calmness surrounded Neo, as if his mere presence had a soothing effect.

Or maybe it was charisma? Sona had felt something similar from the current Satan and her best friend Rias' brother, Lucifer Sirzechs, on occasion.

Or what? Perhaps it was magic... no, that was nonsense. Sona felt nothing from the guy. Yes, like in every living being, she sensed a faint thread of energy in him, but not on the level of a magician.

What is wrong with you?

"Do I have something on my face?" Neo lightly furrowed his thin eyebrows and pulled a rectangular phone from the inner pocket of his black jacket, smiling apologetically at Sona and activating the front camera, adjusting his hair. "I apologize, Miss Sitori. Do you think I should get a haircut?"

"No..." Sona replied thoughtfully, then cleared her mind from the stream of questions. "No, it's fine. The length of your hair complies with the academy's rules."

The guy nodded silently, covering his eyes and stowing the phone back in his jacket. He adjusted his glasses, placed the pawn back on the chessboard, and nudged his king.

"Another game, Miss Sitori?" Neo asked, a hint of mockery in his tone that didn't sit well with Sona, but she brushed off those silly thoughts.

"You know, it's so rare these days to find a good chess player," the guy continued, carefully arranging the pieces on the board. "It's a shame people stopped appreciating such an interesting game with deep meaning."

"Deep meaning?" Sona asked with interest, noting in her mind that she hadn't actually agreed to another game, but she didn't mind.

A formidable opponent, such an intelligent one, was a rare find. Sona was even willing to overlook the fact that the guy sitting in front of her was human.

"Very deep meaning," Neo nodded, intertwining his fingers and covering his eyes. "Chess is our life. Pawns, knights, rooks, and even kings and queens – all of them are us, the sentient beings."

Sona narrowed her eyes, drawing a parallel to "Devil's Pieces" for a moment. She briefly thought that Neo had said this intentionally, but his tone remained thoughtful and dreamy.

"But we can dig a bit deeper..." Neo moved a black pawn first. "Would you mind if I change the rules a bit? Let the black pieces move first."

"I don't mind," Sitori agreed, slowly realizing where Neo was leading the conversation.

"A true king in chess is the player," he continued, running his finger over his pieces. "Only the player can change the rules. Alter reality. The player controls both the king and queen. What do you think, what color is the Player? White, black, or something else?"

Sona pondered, biting her lower lip. After a moment, she blushed slightly, realizing that a stranger had noticed her silly habit. However, she decided not to change anything, thinking it would be foolish.

"Gray," she answered. "I believe the Player's color is gray."

"Like a cardinal?"

"Exactly," it was a casual question, and the Demoness found the answer almost immediately.

"Do you believe in Gods, Miss Sona?" Neo abruptly changed the topic, momentarily looking away from her as he moved his rook several squares forward. "Do you believe in higher beings who rule over us ordinary mortals?"

"No," the conversation with this strange guy was becoming increasingly bewildering to her.

As if in jest, he spoke about topics directly related to the demoness herself. But he did so in a way that led the conversation to be about entirely ordinary, meaningless words.

She wanted to just forget it all and cast a hypnotic spell on him, making him spill everything about himself. She was ready to turn a blind eye to the prohibitions and consequences that such an action could bring. But...

Neo was an enigma. And the girl adored enigmas and puzzles. She felt something in him, a certain potential, and more. She had thought about making him her pawn a hundred times, even if he was weak and meant nothing right now. With his intelligence, over the course of a few centuries, he could become a very powerful mage, and with effort, even enter the aristocracy of the demons.

Several reasons kept Sona from hypnotizing the guy and interrogating him thoroughly about everything he knew.

And, in the end, it just wasn't interesting.

Who was she? Sona from the Sitori clan, one of the seventy-two demon pillars, and in the human world, a highly respected student council president—Sona Sitori!

Sitori. The elite, one of the highest-ranking clans in the demon world! Her sister, whom she tried to avoid despite her love for her, had earned the title "Leviathan"!

And that Sona would 'snap' for a mortal boy? That was completely unlike her and only brought more questions into the black-haired head.

No... she would solve this strange equation as Neo Mori. Solve it and unravel its secrets!

- Of course, they don't exist," the guy agreed, moving his queen two squares forward with ease. "Humans have sent spacecraft into space, and they didn't find any 'God' there. Maybe He's hiding in the fluffy white clouds... oh, I apologize, Miss Sitora, you might be a believer? I shouldn't joke like that?"

"I come from a believing family," the girl said slowly, suppressing a smile in her mind. "But such humor doesn't offend me. Please, continue with your thoughts."

"Thank you. So... there are no Players, and no colors for them," he moved his king off the board, setting it down on the wooden table. "I surrender, Miss Sona. Playing with you has brought me unimaginable pleasure."

"Surrender?" the girl blurted out. She couldn't understand why such a strong opponent had suddenly decided to surrender. He could have easily defended his king with a rook or his last knight. And what was the point of that conversation? What was the meaning of his last words? More riddles...

"I surrender," Neo repeated, rising from his chair and gesturing towards the wall clock on the left. "I have calligraphy lessons in half an hour, and I wouldn't want to miss such an exciting activity," he said apologetically, shifting his gaze to the chessboard. "Let me help you put everything away."

"Don't trouble yourself," Sona said slowly, as if a mistress, emulating her friend Rias, and extended her hand to her interlocutor. "It was nice to meet you, Neo Mori. If you don't mind, drop by tomorrow at the same time. I still hope I can persuade you to join the student council. It will add a plus to your character and help with job placement. Besides, I have... an offer I would like to discuss with you tomorrow."

"I'll definitely come," the guy nodded, shaking her extended hand and turning towards the exit. "Until next time, Miss Sona."

As soon as Neo left and the door closed behind him, Sitora turned to her assistant and, by extension, her "queen" – a tall, long-haired girl with midnight-black hair who was sipping tea.

"Tsubaki, keep an eye on Neo. Record all his actions, and report any peculiarities to me. Understood?"

"Yes, President," the girl nodded, setting aside her porcelain cup. "I'll head out right away. And... he really piqued your interest? He seems quite ordinary. Is it worth sacrificing a pawn for him?"

Although she was Sona's servant, almost a slave, the young demoness despised such comparisons. She regarded Tsubaki as her friend, someone who could offer sound advice, and treated her as an equal.

"There's something about him. And what about the conversations he initiated? Weren't they strange?"

"He's intelligent," Tsubaki shrugged, adjusting a long strand of hair. "He managed to tie with you in the games. Perhaps he's a genius. After all, aren't all geniuses a bit strange? Demons are, too."

"It doesn't add up," Sona continued, ignoring her friend's words and slowly sitting back down in her chair, her gaze shifting to her vice-president. "Genius or not, he's peculiar."

"It's your call," the girl agreed, heading towards the door.

Meanwhile, Neo was walking towards the academy's exit at a leisurely pace. He was drawn by some commotion, and he briefly paused by a window, watching as an enraged mob of girls beat up one of the infamous perverts of the academy, Issei, a chestnut-haired guy with a lecherous grin.

Mori shook his head and continued towards the exit. As he rounded the academy, he approached the beaten-up guy, who had a black eye and swollen lip.

"Issei, beaten up again," Neo said with a good-natured smile, extending a hand to help him up. "And did your friends abandon you once more?"

"Ugh, man... Ohhh, my battle wounds were worth it, hehehehehe, you should have seen the boobs I was looking at!" The vulgar smile on Issei's face practically glowed, making the surrounding students cringe.

"Neo, why are you helping that pervert? He should've just stayed down; he deserved it!" one of the girls from the Kendo club crossed her arms disapprovingly beneath her ample chest.

"Well, well, Miss Mio, he could have picked up some infection, and then you'd have problems," Neo calmly replied, directing his steps and dragging the "ailing" guy towards the infirmary. "It's no trouble for me."

A murmur of whispers ran through the crowd, with words like "saint," "so kind," "let's date" and other nonsense, all of which Neo ignored. He had no time for such things.

Each of his actions and words had a purpose. Every deed he performed carried meaning and an underlying message.

Entering this academy, "befriending" and conversing with Sona, and even helping this outcast were all steps towards a certain goal – the final act of the play that awaited him in the near future.

As expected, Sona began tracking him. It was easy to pique the interest of a rather clever girl, just drop a few "innocuous" phrases, provide a few vague hints about his "supposed" knowledge, and intrigue her with his actions – that was all it took.

He read her like an open book, seeing all her actions and thoughts. He didn't require superpowers or local "magic" for that. For centuries, Neo had been weaving intricate threads of intrigue, playing with the not-so-bright people like puppets, so why wouldn't a young demoness fall for his game?

Deception was his middle name. The first one stayed in the past world, along with most of his former powers, but...

Life was more interesting without power. Besides, all his actions were leading up to the moment when, like a phoenix, he would rise from the ashes.

A Player.

All the nonsense he had told Sona was pure falsehood. In this world, there was only one Player, and that was him, Neo Mori.

What color was he? Colorless. A Player didn't need a color. The best Player was one whose pieces never saw the truth until the very end. They didn't notice the threads attached to their hands, feet, and head.

And he was precisely that... a human. A weak being without special powers and abilities.

Although not entirely in Neo's case.

When his existence in the previous world ended, he realized a crucial truth – humans weren't as weak as they seemed. They possessed a unique trait: the ability to disrupt the Player's infallible plans, shattering the game.

It seemed like something had gone wrong the last time, didn't it? Everything had been meticulously planned over centuries, all the pieces on the board had performed their roles as intended. The game was in full swing, and he simply had to wait and occasionally pull the necessary strings. But...

What had gone wrong? How had a man, albeit not an entirely ordinary one, created by the Player and having gone through all the planned battles, managed to surpass him... to surpass a Higher Being, the final stage of evolution?

TO SURPASS A GOD?!

A mighty soul, trapped in a mortal shell, was clueless.

It was the first time in his entire life that his plans had developed cracks. Yes, there were countless situations where the game could have gone awry, but there were thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of possible solutions to correct them.

Everything had always been on the Player's side. Fallen pieces, immortality, and unimaginable power that surpassed all living and non-living beings in the three worlds.

Yet a human had managed to defeat a God...

Neo's thoughts didn't reflect on his face. He calmly entered his home, greeted his "parents," checked the illusion spell he had cast on them, created through years of research into local magical energy. Then, he curiously examined the magical beacon mark that Sona had attached to his arm and modified it, adding his own illusion spell.

Now, anyone monitoring him would believe he had gone to his room to do his homework. They would even see it if they tried.

Neo himself entered the bathroom and removed the powerful illusion concealing the hidden passage to his laboratory. With a leap, he descended into the spacious, well-lit room filled with hundreds of flasks, tables, and slumbering test subjects. Among them were modified humans, demons, angels, and spirits, collected by Neo from neighboring cities.

He quickly donned a lab coat over his attire and proceeded to the spiritual computer he had recreated in this world. He had to modify it to function within the local reality, but it hadn't taken him more than a week.

"So..." Neo quickly skimmed through the computer reports, adjusting his glasses. "Another failure... I need more material," the guy muttered to himself. "Why doesn't it work? Perhaps I'm doing something wrong. Hmm, maybe I need a stronger soul? Or is it because this world is more material than the human world I came from?"

His gaze fell on a light-haired girl with snow-white wings. "You have a lot of energy with a light hue... no, you won't influence it. It's as if I sometimes need an extra pair of hands," Neo said, shaking his head and picking up a scalpel from the table. "Maybe I need to mix you three? A stronger body and soul will facilitate the embodiment of Hogyoku."

For a few moments, he stared at the three very different yet at the same time strikingly similar girls floating in the transparent substance. Then he gave a faint smile.

"Mixing two different souls is easier than three practically identical ones. It's a strange paradox, but we can work around it. Yes, this will help," he nodded and swiftly moved to the computer, entering hundreds of data points. "It will work."

In his past world, he was known as Aizen Sosuke. A self-proclaimed final stage of evolution, almost a god, whose plans were thwarted by a human. "The Temporary Shinigami."

Well, this world was yet to meet Aizen... the time had not yet come.

It was a strange world where Gods, Demons, Angels, and many other powerful souls existed. They stood above all others, believing that they had the right to be by God's throne.

But the truth was that the heavens had always been empty. No one occupied them. Not Demons, not Fallen, not Angels, not even the Gods of local mythologies... not even him.

"And even you, my dear observer, have no right to stand at the top," Aizen wiped away the blood that had splashed onto his cheek from the still-living experimental material, and raised his gaze to the ceiling. "The God of this world is dead, and no one has taken His place. But it's time to fill this unbearable void in the heavens. Soon... I will rule over them."

He smiled and adjusted his glasses, setting the scalpel aside.

Because he was about to cross any boundaries once again. Even if the world tried to stop him, Aizen wouldn't back down.

He would ascend to the Likeness of God. Become the King they would believe in.

And then the world would tremble.