“She’s dying Leo, I’m sorry, there’s nothing we can do about it.” The doctor said and soon left the room.

Leo just stood there, thoughts running wild, unable to concentrate. Years and years studying about the means capable of saving lives, and yet, he could not save his mother.

The hospital room was completely white; having a window with the curtains closed to make sure the sunlight would stay outside.

A woman was lying on the bed, unaware of what was happening. One day she just slept and never woke up again, and after that day, Leo had lost his world, his everything.

Jennifer, the most precious woman in Leo’s life, the woman that gave him life and raised him with love, kept getting worse; cancer had already spread within her body, killing her slowly and painfully.

He had run without options. Seeing Jennifer like that made his heart suffer too much, Leo could not withstand anymore.

“Damn it.”

After contemplating for a while, he walked towards the exit. “I love you mom, come back please, I miss you…” He got no response, causing tears to fall. Leo closed the door gently, leaving the room overflowing with sadness.

Walking down the hallway, he could sense the pitiful look the hospital staff gave him, making his heart, sank even deeper.

Fuck you and your pity; acting as if you care, I bet that one week after my mother dies you will all forget about it, she is not your mother anyways right. Leo muttered to himself full of anger. He knew these people were all fake, acting all benevolent towards him and pretending to know what he was feeling, but the truth was the complete opposite.

He flipped the keys, turned his car on, and headed back home. Looking through the window, everything seemed grayer, darker, as if the happiness had vanished. My keys, where are my keys, fuck. He searched inside his pockets, looking for the house keys. It did not take long for him to find, but his anxiety told him otherwise.

The house was stinking, dishes that never felt the water, and clothes spread at every spot you could imagine. Leo abandoned cleaning a long time ago since his mother stayed full time at the hospital for her treatment.

Throwing his work clothes at the bed, he then changed for something casual. He had lost his hunger after the previously sad episode, so he decided to scroll and read about random stuff on the internet.

“Demon pact ritual. Follow the instructions to invoke a demon from the depths of hell, granting you anything you want, well, there is a price, of course, the demon decides.” What the fuck. Leo would never attempt this, but he pondered. Could this demon save my mother’s life? The thought came and stayed in his mind. Fingers tapping, legs moving, unable to hold his anxiety.

Fuck. I will try this, I am sure it will not work but whatever, trying do not cost me anything anyways.

He started to follow the instructions, igniting candles, and drawing a symbol that looked like a pentagram. There was a chant written as well, he needed to say it aloud, believing in it. Leo turned off all the lights inside the house, candle lights were the only ones illuminating the room.

The chant was not long; Leo recited everything clearly, thinking of his mother since the beginning, wishing for it to work. Nothing. I need to stop giving myself false hopes…

The wind came out of nowhere, making the candle’s flame almost fade out. Leo’s room started to get hotter, making him tremble in fear. Did it work? That means a fucking demon is coming to get me, shit. He was scared; Leo thought that it would never work in the first place. Unprepared to face a demon, he quickly ran into the kitchen, grabbing a sharp knife to defend himself.

A knife, seriously Leo. What can I do with it? Stab the undying demon that is coming to get me; I’m pretty sure it does not work that way…”

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He watched the pentagram, bearing a serious look. The fiend did not take long to appear, and when Leo looked at it, he instantly pissed himself.

It was huge. The demon looked like what Leo imagined, but seeing in person was a different story. It had red skin, wings, two big horns, and eyes that would make the bravest warrior shiver. An armor protected his body along with a giant spear in his hands. The air seemed to burn around him due to the high temperature.

“What smell is this? Did you pissed himself kid?” The fiend could not hold his laugh; the human weaklings were always funny in his eyes.

“A knife? I cannot believe what I’m seeing.” He laughed even harder.

“Wh-wh-who are you?” Leo was so scared that he could not talk properly, his mind blank.

“Who am I? I am Ortan, who else would it be. Wait for a second, let me get this straight, you made a fucking ritual to call me here, and yet, you do not even know me? That is the stupidest thing I’ve seen in a thousand years.” Ortan laughed for two minutes, almost crying. Leo stood still, in panic.

“All right boy, tell me what you want. After seeing this much stupidity, I can promise you a good deal.” Ortan said this looking like he had already a plan for Leo in his mind.

“My mother, Sh-she is dying due to cancer, please cure her, I can give you my soul.” Leo gathered all the courage he could and said that to Ortan.

“Your soul? I do not want your soul boy; I could lose my intelligence picking a soul dumb as yours. I can cure your mother, that is quite easy actually, but I do have a bigger plan, would you like to listen to it?

“Of course, tell me what you want, I can do anything for my mother.”

“Good, good, listen carefully I will not repeat myself. I have a mission for you. You see, there are other universes, far more interesting than the boring Earth of yours. Here is the deal, you will help me conquer another universe and in exchange, I will heal your mother, sounds good right?

Leo was confused after hearing what the fiend.

“I don’t get it, how can I help you conquer a universe? Why don’t you just go and do it yourself?”

“I can’t act boy; the universe I’m talking about has magic, strong creatures, even gods. Entering by myself would-be suicide; everyone would chase me and beat me up. That is why I need your help; you will be my emissary, gathering an army for me.”

“And before you ask, the time here on earth will be stopped, so even after years in that universe, you will be able to return after the mission is complete to live the rest of your life with your mother. However, I do think that you will love the power there; no way will you want to come back to this shit place anymore, so in the future, I can bring your mother there if you want, I will be generous if you do complete my task.

“However, be aware, the mission is not easy, there is a chance that you will die there, and if that happens, your mother will not be healed.” Ortan explained everything to Leo and waited for his response.

“Ortan, I’m just a doctor, how can I survive in this fantastic universe? I will problem die on the first day. Besides, I am already 32 years old; I can die of age there before even completing your task.

“How can you be this dumb? I just said that there is magic in that universe, everyone that is strong has large lifespans, also I’m a fucking demon, sending a younger version of yourself is not difficult, and about the danger, of course, I will give you some help before entering there; otherwise, it would be suicidal.”

“I will give you a demonic constitution.”

“Demonic constitution? I don’t know seems bad for me.” Leo did not like the sound of it.

“Are you saying that my body is weak then?” Ortan got pissed.

“N-no it’s not like that, but here on Earth demons are bad, and ‘Demonic constitution’ does not seem lovely.”

“It’s not supposed to be lovely you dumbass, it is supposed to make you strong.”

“All right all right, what it does then?”

“Your body will become stronger, your senses, your affinity towards some types of magic, imagine this as an upgrade to your human weak body.”

“Will I get ugly then? I am not saying you are ugly Ortan, it’s just that, I’m not a big fan of horns.”

“You will have a demonic appearance, just like me, but I can give you a spell to hide your traits, becoming exactly like a human if you insist.”

“Thank you. All right, I will accept the deal then.”

“Marvelous.” Ortan was excited, already seeing himself as the ruler of a universe. He then snapped his fingers while looking at Leo.

“It is done, your mother is cured. I think the hospital will call you soon.”

It went just as Ortan said; the hospital called after one minute. Leo took the ringing phone inside his pocket.

“Hello.”

“Leo, a miracle happened, your mother is completely cured, no one here can explain the feat, please come here quickly.” A doctor said that words fast, Leo could not hold his smile, he felt truly happy.

He started to look for the keys; he intended to go see his mother right away.

“Hold on boy, you will not leave this place.” Ortan used a suction force to maintain Leo in place.

“I did my part of the deal, now you need to do yours.”

Ortan did not wait for Leo to complain, using his hand to grab Leo’s head, delivering some information. He then opened a portal using his other hand, throwing Leo inside of it.

The next thing Leo saw was a completely different world…