I awoke in pitch darkness, my wrist throbbing sharply. My breaths came heavily. It was hard to rise, but I forced myself up.

*SNAP*

The sound of fingers snapping echoed. Suddenly the room was lit. I clutched my face, closing my eyes. The light was blinding.

“Susumu, is it?” The man’s voice chuckled derisively. I struggled to see him. My eyesight was strewn with sparkles, but finally his face resolved. I knew I stood no chance against him, particularly now. We’d never stood a chance against him. I clutched my head. It ached. He continued, “What was your game?” He sat astride a chair, leaning against the back of it.

I shrugged and laughed. “I will capture you for your crimes against Reiko and Tokyo. You’re a villain. You need to pay.” I gritted my teeth, glad I could hide behind the helmet.

“Pay? Trust me. I already paid a heavy price for my power.” He shook his head. “The highest price I paid was Reiko.”

“YOU KILLED HER!” I stumbled up.

He put his hand up. “Don’t bother. I’ll just be forced to humiliate you further.”

“YOU FREAKING KILLED REIKO!” I quivered in rage. My bracelet glowed brilliant on my broken wrist.

“You’re misinformed. Oh sure, my actions led to her death. You could claim it, but I didn’t kill her. She committed suicide. It’s true. I wanted to make sure everyone understands what she has done. Like everyone in the city, you’ll know the truth.”

I snarled, “Don’t you dare to mock me! You don’t know a thing about her! Reiko would never have killed herself! She had dreams and desires! You stole them away from her!”

“Fool.” He shook with laughter, but a hint of sadness showed in his eyes. At that moment, I launched myself at the man. I grew again. Before I reached him, though, I fell. Something had grabbed my feet and made me stumble. I turned to see a patch of shadow on the floor with baleful golden eyes. It glowered at me from the shadows of its substance that wreathed around my ankle. “Behave, or you’ll lose that foot.”

I flinched, struggling. The pressure mounted as I struggled. This pain reached the point where I couldn’t call forth whatever spiritual power I had. The glowing of my bracelet faded.

“I’ll be kind to you. Before I finish you off, I’ll tell you the sad story of Reiko’s folly and my past,” he murmured.

My family had a bright future, but they threw it away. Our arts created yokai in the distant past. Using our scrolls, we dreamed them into existence. Yes, all the spiritual creatures across Japan were our creations. To say that we were kami would be grievously understating the facts. After they were born, others were born. It was a trend when humanity learned how. The use of consciousness power’s applications for a time became widespread, but no matter what mind created them, if it was even their own, all yokai can trace their lineage to our family. Our art, our imagination ignited the creativity of others. The spirit arts were born.

They spread to every other country. Other creatures and gods were born of the consciousness of other talented people, but most of those outside Japan have since faded into oblivion. You could say the gods of every nation are nothing but figments of consciousness. In a world that doesn’t need faith, the consciousness has faded and dimmed and my family has fallen to their current sad state. I reversed that atrophy when I discovered one day a cache of tools under a tatami mat.

I sought to learn the arts and worked to toughen my mind and body. At the time, I found that I could do little with them with my understanding. I struggled for years in gaining this strength. There was no one to teach me. My progress was agonizingly slow, but eventually -- eureka. I learned the true power of my consciousness. It’s mind over matter. Our willpower can affect the outcome of events world-wide. If your mind is like steel, one can even twist chance.

I tried to convince my family that I was the true inheritor of the legacy. I told them that I would lead them to new glory. We’d change the world. The world would become spiritual once again. The strong are the victors. That has always been the case, but in this world money is the most important thing. With spirituality so nonexistent, yokai have since decided to blend in human society. Eventually, they’ll fade into oblivion like gods did in the distant past.

My family told me I was misled and deluded. I demonstrated my command over the arts, but still they doubted me. They banished me, telling me they never wanted to see me again. I was furious.

I told them they’d never see anything ever again. Thus, I summoned the most horrifying creature I ever had. Enenra. There were pictures of it in our scrolls. I studied it for a long time, but I was finally able to visualize it... and its power was overwhelming. I imagine with your education you don’t know what that is. Imagine darkness and smoke merged. That is Enenra.

The demon tore my family limb from limb. I had no control over it, so I watched as the walls of my family’s home were coated in their blood. I commanded Enenra to clean up. They disappeared. Enenra was born with those simple words I spoke, “You’ll never see ever again.”

It executed the command as it saw fit. I steeled myself as I left my family home. I lived like a vagabond, travelling from city to city on foot. I continued to train myself in martial arts. Few human beings were charitable. I soon turned to stealing what I needed. It started with food, and gradually I worked up to the money people carried on them. I didn’t kill anyone, but when one man fought back and showed me that his martial art was on a higher level than my own, I had Enenra slay him. There’s no way to stand against Enenra. That ruthless act set my feet on my path to greatness. Money truly was what made the world move. No matter what I had to do, I would do it.

I stole enough to attend college. When I reached Tokyo, I enrolled and enriched my mind. My physical training continued as I learned. I even made connections with the sons of the owners of companies. That opened me the way to my future.

I learned the arts of bending chance using pure consciousness. The world started to bend to my will. I became one of the highest-regarded students attending the university. When I graduated, I applied to work at a company I’d learned about. Using my gained connections, I was able to plot my way up to the top. I had gained a stepping-stone to lift me to the top. I used it mercilessly to forge an empire bit by bit by acquiring other smaller companies and finally corporations. The process was a faster one than you could imagine. I could have taken control of the country itself, but I refrained. True power lies with the corporations. Governments will fall to dust while corporations will replace them.

That was my life until Reiko appeared before my eyes. She materialized from nowhere. I felt as though she was conjured by my imagination, she was so perfect. She struck me like a missile. That changed everything. Money and power were all I cared about, but she showed me that there was something more to living.

We dated many times. To tell the tale would require a great deal of time. To sum it up, I realized I was lonely. That was what changed me the most. I thought I was beyond such petty concerns, but that woman’s nature changed me. I was helpless before her power.

Our love blossomed. I know she was feeling the same way. We shared a wonderful night together. She’d played a coy game every time we saw each other, but she stopped fighting. The kisses we shared were mindblowing. The very touch of her soft body pressed against mine convinced me that she must be mine. Nothing else I’d stolen or earned could compare with her.

Things progressed to the point where we planned our marriage. There was a strong possibility that she might bear my child. I realized I could recreate my family in my image. My descendants would rise to become the rulers of the world thanks to my hard work. My children and theirs would make the world a better place. It would bring people closer to nature. Yokai themselves would be saved from their inevitable fate.

One night, I noticed Reiko was missing after I’d completed a ritual to strengthen my spiritual powers. Somehow I was certain she’d seen me performing the bloody ritual. I was concerned about what she would think of me, because it makes use of the blood of yokai and willing human participants. I assure you that no people were killed in the process of its synthesis. All that’s necessary to make demon ink is the blood of people who strongly believe in you as though you were a god. It must be willingly given.

By intuition after my ritual, I hurried to the genkan elevator. As suspected, I found her there waiting for the doors to open. She was quite worried. I studied her for a moment, but I was convinced that she was trying to run. She was holding my summoning scroll. I’d become negligent, blinded by love. When our eyes met, I saw the fear and hate in her eyes. I was shocked by those emotions. I rushed to seize her to keep her from stealing. She struck me at that moment.

“Take your hand off me! It’s over! I’m dumping you!” Reiko claimed. Although I still don’t believe those words expressed her true feelings.