Chapter 1

Descending from the Darkness

Present moment

The big question, which he began to ponder, was...

Why would he continue to help Constantine?

So, either he starts getting involved in this or now, amidst all the confusion, when he learns of his alliance with Faust.

There were two desperate men there, who took desperate measures.

So, how many times have they both tried to cheat death?

He found more than 10 of these accounts through some of his contacts.

While both sold their souls, they also cheated the demons, this happened more than once, and neither in the previous instances, nor this time, did either of them want to pay for their agreements, nor be taken to hell, even in the face of agreements they made and now refuse to honor.

All of this gets tiring; there comes a point when everything has to end.

Like him, he saw that not only was he being sought by Constantine, but Zatanna and other magicians were also in the midst of it all, and that he was in the Watch Tower when it all happened.

Observing the conversation, I knew there was more to it than just a series of businesses that didn't want to pay.

Tsuki saw that there was no solution, but he took one of the relics that both Faust and Constantine had brought, of course, without realizing it, and without the magician noticing or knowing.

Rejecting the lies, he retrieved one of the artifacts they had both brought, swiped it, and left, abandoning them to deal with their own problems.

When Tsuki left his tower, leaving them there so he could have a conversation, he then went to his cave, where he came into contact with the demons.

It was not difficult, apparently, for anyone, whether powerful or not, to use and summon them.

That's what Tsuki did; curiously, he thought about how easy it would be to bring them into his presence.

Once again, he saw that the trickster wizard was involved in schemes, lies, and deceiving demons in exchange for immortality.

None of them were saints, they didn't seem like they would accept the blame, they stole from the so-called demons, they didn't want to take responsibility and they didn't want to pay.

It was then that some demons decided to pay him a visit, they accepted his invitation, and that's when Tsuki heard the whole story, both sides.

The demons came to him, hearing his calls.

"Are you going to defend the humans?" the demons asked.

I want to hear from you first, with proof, what each of them did.

Then they looked at each other; it didn't seem like anyone would hear them.

So, they said.

- Okay. – In the end, it seemed they didn't care about talking to anyone.

That's when Tsuki Miki got involved with gambling, convinced that it was more interesting than a simple, ordinary game.

When Tsuki was invited, in the middle of a meeting, it was a simple matter of principle.

That's how they started talking, with evidence, with clues, and seeing that Constantine omitted facts and lied, besides not handing over the evidence, hiding what he was doing, even so, involving others in his schemes.

While they were there, the demons answered their calls, which was more out of curiosity than any real value.

If you listen to me and understand that it's not worth negotiating with Constantine, make sure that other demons don't hear them, that they are driven into isolation and oblivion.

"I know that if what you told me is true, their souls are worthless, immortality without consequences, put a curse on them, leave them without contact with other demons," Tsuki said.

"How will we know you won't cheat?" one of them asked him.

"I'm not someone who doesn't keep their word. I've never implied that I would deceive other people. At most, I make plans, but I'm not a person who doesn't keep their word," Tsuki said.

"We can start there, a bet without blackmail or cheating. If you prove you're a person of your word and worth, we won't fight you," one of the demons said.

"Then we can begin," one of the demons said.

"Let's negotiate, give me a good price and we can have good bets. I promise that when we form a partnership, I won't cheat, I'll prove my trustworthiness," Tsuki said.

That's how it was in his cave, where Tsuki would talk without paying attention to warnings; if his mind told him not to, then he would do the opposite. That's how he started frequenting gambling houses.

Between his trips to and from the company and the mansion, he had an agreement with some partners when he was visited by demons, who agreed to negotiate with him and become his partners, all a game of loyalty and trust, in which they happened to be demons involved in a gambling ring.

It was at that moment, when he thought he was judging this in his favor, that he found himself in a series of situations that led him to an undertaking to try to talk to the demons of the contract with him. Although it wasn't difficult to join them, it was complicated. He had years of experience fighting crime, but this was the first time that curiosity had struck him, while he managed to ally himself with the demons through a series of contacts with mages.

Therefore, when Tsuki started, even Constantine, who was one of his allies, couldn't handle it alone. He made contact with him while trying to rid him of yet another problem, a series of them, when he once again wanted to cheat and try to save his soul. Uniting in a new alliance with Tsuki was more profitable.

So, for Tsuki, a business deal and partnership were more profitable than selling his soul. He managed to secure a deal simply by using Constanta's debt, who, in turn, was unaware of his negotiation with Fausto. That's how he negotiated, and that's how their friendship began. That's how Tsuki was convincing them that at that moment, involving others wasn't profitable, and that demonic actions weren't what they wanted...

So, where he found himself now, in a gambling house that no hero would enter, but demons would, it was just an invitation, which he accepted, interestingly enough, he was inspired.

Just as the demons agreed to be his ally, accepting to be listened to, he too entered, all out of curiosity.

Initially, he shouldn't have, but he did it; it wasn't against the rules, but also nobody stopped him from doing it.

Something happened that didn't work out.

Tsuki decided that everything there could work in her favor.

He should go back in time.

4 weeks before whatever your bets with the demons are...

As he began to frequent the demonic den more than the heroes' association, he had more conversations and stories that he wanted to hear.

At some point in time, during an adventure through time, when he didn't know when time was.

Tsuki Miki was falling towards some ruins when an earthquake struck. He plummeted from the crater, falling towards cracks, with part of his torso being pierced vertically.

He had a pointed rock, which had pierced him vertically; its thin point, with a thick extension, pierced from his shoulder towards one of his lungs.

When he broke his spine in the fall, Tsuki Miki didn't know at that moment whether he would die from the haemorrhaged, or from his punctured lung, or if they would remain alive on a bed.

There were numerous ruined buildings there, as well as sharp rocks near his spine. The fall itself caused him to break his spine; he didn't move. He had seen what was above him, not to mention the sharp rock.

That was Astro-Star who was on top of him; a part of the pointed rock tip had pierced Astro-Star's shoulder, who was on top of him.

At some point during the journey back to the past.

- Tsuki Miki... – Astro-Star tried.

"I know you're a good person, but I don't think I'll last," said Tsuki Miki.