I'm a greedy man.

I knew it, the world knew it, and the demon standing across my living room definitely knew it. Its presence demanded my attention, and despite it only standing a few feet from me I couldn't tell exactly what it looked like.

My mind simply had trouble processing the strange creature before me, leaving me with a headache and the impression that it was a mess of blurry shifting shapes.

Most people would've run upon seeing a monster appear in their house. Especially considering this is the penthouse suite of an eighty-story building with no clear way it could've gotten in. But I wasn't worried, I'd been preparing to meet this thing for the better part of a year and couldn't help but feel excited.

This creature was what every news station had been talking about for two years now. Mainly pertaining to how it's been abducting people by the thousands, as well as the deals it makes, but that's not important right now. What's important is a good first impression, and staring blankly wasn't going to do me any favors.

I approached it with a welcoming smile and open arms, "I apologize for my current appearance."

I gestured down to the shorts and t-shirt that I used for pajamas.

"Give me just a moment to freshen up and then we can continue this talk in my office. How does that sound?"

After a moment of silence, the demon spoke. Its voice was raspy and ancient, with some sort of reverb effect to it.

".... that's acceptable."

"Great, I'll be back in five minutes. In the meantime, please wait in my office and make yourself at home."

I retreated back to my room and closed the door in a calm manner, before rushing to my closet and ripping the doors open.

Amongst the designer brands that filled the large closet was a set of clothes that stood out. Specially made cargo pants with each pocket filled to the absolute brim with a plethora of useful items, as well as a breathable shirt and jacket. Every article of clothing made claims of being bulletproof. The man I'd bought them from had even given me a demonstration of their effectiveness, and I could safely say I was impressed.

I didn't waste time and quickly put on the clothes and pulled out my phone and made a call.

"He's here, get everyone in position."

With that I brushed my slightly graying hair and moved back towards the door, stopping just before it and taking several deep breaths.

My heart was racing the same way it always did when there was a deal to be made. It had only been a matter of time before the demon showed up at my door.

Every last person it abducted could at the very least be loosely described as greedy. From gamblers to thieves and then of course to me.

It was a demon who abducted people and put them through trials, granting them mind boggling powers should they actually manage to complete the task. Not many got that far, but it would find me better prepared than the others. That I could be sure of.

I left the room and made a beeline towards my office where the demon was waiting.

I didn't hesitate and walked in the same way I had thousands of times before, a practiced smile plastered on my face and a warm welcome leaving my lips.

"It's truly an honor to have you here this evening. Truth be told, I've never had the chance to welcome someone of your caliber in this office before."

The demon loomed over the other side of the table as I took a seat across from it. This was a familiar feeling, although truthfully one I hadn't felt in a decade or so.

The creature across from me was completely ready to kill me if I didn't go along with its deal, but that was nothing to fret over. In this day and age anyone could kill you if they truly put their mind to it, and I'd already had my fair share of cartel and mafia bosses sit across from me at this table.

They never did anything to harm me though, and I'd be sure to make history repeat itself tonight. So I matched my gaze where I could only assume its eyes were, and quickly began to get a headache.

Its body morphed and twisted as it sat across from me, and clearly wasn't meant to be looked upon by humans. My body wanted me to avert my eyes, to bow my head in understanding that this creature was something greater than me.

But at the moment, that would be just about the dumbest thing I could do. You don't avert your eyes in the middle of a deal. I've stared men down as they threatened to cut up my body, stuff me in a barrel and throw me into the ocean.

Looking away shows fear, it shows your discomfort, but most importantly it dictates the power dynamic for the rest of your relationship.

So I pushed through the ever-growing headache and moved the conversation forwards.

"I presume you came to offer me the chance to take one of your trials?"

...

The demon didn't respond for several moments before slowly leaning its head towards me. It got closer and closer, it's body arching over the table until its face was only inches from mine.

I didn't flinch, and my expression didn't break. I simply held my smile and waited for the monster to respond.

"Hmm, you're an interesting one. Yes, I came here to offer you the chance to take a trial. You must choose one of the four. Failure to do so will result in your already damned soul being claimed by me."

"Well alright then, please list these trials loudly and clearly for me."

This office was bugged to all hell. By my order of course.

I had a single Bluetooth earbud in my left ear where a team of several hundred of the smartest people I could gather relayed me advice on how to proceed with the deal.

"Choose the path you will walk down. The path of the meek, the path of the brave, the path of the hero or the path of the fool."

"Is that in order of ascending difficulty?"

"Yes."

"Would you be willing to elaborate on what each path will contain?"

"No."

A curt refusal, but one I could respect. Nowadays I spent a lot of my time dealing with politicians, and given a tough question they'd say just about anything but a definite yes or no.

"Then let's discuss the powers that you give out for the trial."

I couldn't see its expression, but the demon seemed to light up at the mention of the powers.

"Yes, let's."

"From what my team has gathered, the powers you give out become more potent depending on the trial chosen. Is this true"

"Yes, a taste of the power is given upon entry and will be completely instilled upon exit. Up to the extent the trial they choose allows of course."

"Excellent."

I reached into a drawer at my side, pulling out a stack of papers twice as thick as my head and plopped it down onto the table.

"I choose the path of the fool, and the power I want is recorded here."

The demon looked down towards the stack of papers before slowly moving its gaze back to me.

I shrugged in response.

"Sorry, but if I'm going to be risking my life, I need to ensure that it'll be worth it. Us humans have far too many stories of people being screwed over by wish granting entities, whether it be genies, fairies or demons. I'd like to think that I'm smarter than some random unfortunate soul who finds a monkey paw laying in the street and cripples themselves with a wish."

The demon sighed and held his hand over the stack of papers. A bright red light emanated from the hand and seeped down into the papers.

Several minutes passed before the demon spoke once again.

"So you wish to be immortal?"

"Exactly as the document says."

"Why?"

At the absurd question I couldn't help but chuckle slightly.

"Do you have a name?"

"None that you are worthy of knowing."

"Then what should I call you?"

"Just refer to me as a Demon, that's what my brothers and sisters have recently begun to call me."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Well then Mr. Demon. Do you know why humanity has always, and will always be divided?"

"I am not well versed with the ongoings of your kind."

"Then allow me to enlighten you. It's because we only live for about eighty years or so before we die, and that restraint right there is truly a grand one. This world has had marvelous leaders, people who truly tried their hardest to change it for the better. They work and toil for years, win necessary wars, change their nations for the better, and then, after all their years of work when they finally die, it all gets undone. Perhaps by one of their descendants, or maybe somebody who paid their way into the position. It doesn't really matter; the end result is always the same. There's a saying among my kind. If you want something done right, then you have to do it yourself."

The demon quirked his head to the side.

"And you think yourself the benevolent leader who will lead mankind to greatness? Child, you chose the most difficult trial and you already talk as if you've completed it. You are greedy, human."

My smile brightened.

"Not a single one of the great men I referred to wasn't. Greed isn't sin, it's a poison that can be refined into a medicine. It takes greed to make a difference, and I think you're smart enough to know that considering who you choose to enlist for your trials."

The atmosphere in the office shifted as the demon leaned ever closer to me. Its gaze was piercing, its presence fire, and then it began to laugh. It started as a soft chuckle, and then slowly developed into a booming laugh that enveloped the whole room.

"Of all the fools to take this trial. I think you may just be the most interesting."

"Then should we get to it?"

"Very well, the path of the fool is the same for all who choose it. Kill my brothers and sisters, the gods who cast me down to this lower world. I don't care how it is done, but you will tear them down from their throne and lay their heads at my feet."